Germany: Where did the 100 billion go?

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

My buddy Bernhard recently explored the political and cultural background of Germany's reticence when it comes to military spending. While times *might* be changing, it's worth to keep this in mind: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3W4dp-AjpmrhLM

[@CJFreeza]

With the call to attention it is echoing the need to be ready given the situation further east....

[@DC9622]

Very informative video Chris. I anticipate a number of European countries are frantically reviewing their strategic defence strategy. In the U.K. there has been a debate bubbling away whether some F35/a should be brought for the RAF, in addition to the F35/b numbers for the aircraft carriers. Then there is Tempest, have you any idea what is happening on that front.

[@mbtrev]

People talk a lot about f 35 but in fact it's relatively cheap even compared to old eurofighter if you sum the overall expenses And for the price you get super modern fighter jet so no wonder why is everyone buying those instead of older aircraft

[@DC.409]

@@mbtrev indeed what many don’t understand the cost given is full life cost covering maintenance and upgrades. Arguably the Eurofighter typhoon is getting old, I recall the RAF are decommissioning the older aircraft.

[@derhafi]

Calling for tenders is a tricky thing in Germany...particulary when it's an EU-wide tender. Getting your papers ready is the beginning od a burocratic nightmare..Publication periods need to be uphold, documentation is hold as sacred and vetos from non considered offers can hold the entire process even further etc.....NOt to mention that the staff in office responsible for this is about 1000 short. Money alone is not a magicl wand...it takes juristical exceptions or some reforms, german wide they are slow, EU wide, which is needed here...they are abysmal slow.

[@shawnadams1965]

After having lived in Germany since 1985 if someone told me that a Coalition of the SPD, FDP and Greens would be the ones to rearm Germany I would have laughed at them. We are indeed living in "interesting times". Great video Chris.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

Yep. It got interesting for me when the japanese started talking about the Izumos... "honest to god, not offesive, NOT an aircraft carrier" 😉🤞

[@B.A.767]

Self preservation really. Europe needs to be a super power in the world in order to dissuade the likes of Russia from coming the heavy stuff. France on its own with its military are in no position to send Russian troops back to their barracks.

[@xxxm981]

@@B.A.767 And neither can germany, remember what happened last time? And if the americans get involved, it does not matter what germany has or has not.

[@Casa-de-hongos]

The SPD had its fair share on everything the germany ever did. Not very surprising.

[@Casa-de-hongos]

@@B.A.767 Most stupid comment on the internet. You really love war, do you?

[@Wien1938]

German speaker: We must take immediate action! German audience: Yes! We must! All together: File a motion for the study of the feasibility of immediate action!

[@scratchy996]

They are the People's Front of Judea.

[@Honigball]

No of Germany of course. We are not that loosers from the Peoples front of Judea.

[@matthendricks9666]

@@scratchy996 LOL

[@alexanderlipowsky6055]

what is the difference of you non germans between action and petition/studiy on the feasability thereof? isnt that the same? study effects, act on the study for best results

[@Matt.Willoughby]

@@alexanderlipowsky6055 I think the point is similar to seeing a guy on the street bleeding to death from a severed finger and the medics deciding to conduct a quick refresher course on how to safely apply a tourniquet before treating the patient. Obviously the patient dies of blood loss in the meantime.

[@rikulappi9664]

As Finland announced instant financing for defence, Finnish Defence Force was tasked with preparing a proposal for a shopping list on how to use the money. Soldiers know best what they need and what they lack. Politicians will then approve the DFD made list pretty much as such, or that is the idea at least. We Finns are a bit dumb, hence we have to rely on experts quite often. Germany, on the other hand, obviously seems to be blessed with politicians who know military stuff better than the professionals! Good for Germany! The way to go!

[@difficiliscarere9838]

I will never forget all the money spend by Ursula von der Leyen on military consultants , instead of military equipment, while she was minister of defense. So much money gone up the assholes of people, who in the end didnt do anything for germans defense. But hey, they probably had nice looking powerpoint slides in their presentation -.-

[@robertozucchini]

Von der Leyen hired many of these so called "experts", because she have had no military experience. As a result the german army changed the inside of the tanks so pregnant women can drive them. And the "groch fock" is a old sailing ship for the apprentence of the navy. The renovation costed 135 million euros. But the troops in the baltic are in a lack of basic stuff like tents, handheld radios and even underwear. Now Lambrecht is the 3rd minister of defense in a row without any knowledge in military actions. As a german I am slightly pissed of that. I hope that we will get a competent minister of defense soon and not another "gun mother".

[@henricomonterosa4534]

Do we though? That would be new to me 😂😂🙈

[@bobrobert533]

@@robertozucchini Why add false claims on top of fair criticism they made uniforms for pregnant women not a refit of tanks

[@robertozucchini]

@@bobrobert533 I checked it and yes, i felt for clickbait of a news company. But indeed there is a requirement for the crew room of the "Puma" to have partuculate matter values below the limit of a workplace for pregnants. Nice to see there are still people questioning informations from unkown persons and mention if there is something wrong. Have a nice day.

[@Immanatum]

"we don't plan that far" - modern policy of any European government nowadays. That's why every initiative (even the best of them) are falling down to the primitive populism. Simply because things are complex and for changing something a huge amount of time is needed - but elections are every 4-5 years, so remains only things which can be done in those terms.

[@kalterverwalter4516]

Which Goverment Plans That far?

[@helixvonsmelix]

I took the comment as a dig at Russia. Example, Russia already know their Government in 5+ years

[@kalterverwalter4516]

@@helixvonsmelix Me as well because the current war dies Not Seem Planned 😂

[@GunslingerLv]

The American way

[@noobster4779]

Most people these days: Germany is rearming Me, looking at the 1980s west Germany: Boys, 2% is nothing....we were at 5% before and supplied 50% of europes Nato military....dwarving the UK and France....and we are only talking West Germany. This isnt rearming, its a small addition at best Fun fact: Germany is legally forbidden from expanding its military to the size of the 1980s again because the German reunification treaty has military limitations in it like 370.000 active soldiers at maximum. This was literally put in the treaty because our neighbours to the east and west were rather....scared....about the idea the biggest non-USA Nato army would join with the biggest non USSR warsaw pact army...Germany had the 3 biggest military on the planet on the day of reunification in 1991. And then we disarmed for obvious reasons massively, after all the USSR was gone and we werent allowed to invade Poland or Anschluss Austria again...not that anybody wanted more useless land. So whenever you think about Germanys army increasing.....this isnt even close to what would be possible and was reality only 30 years ago. If Germany would go lunatic and go back to the 5% of the late cold war from 30 years ago that would be around 178.5 Billion € yearly spending.....for comparison that would be over 3 times what the UK is spending right now at 60 Billion. If there would be political will Germany could defend the EU on its own after spending 5% GDP for a decade without issue. The problem in Germany is never the budget but the efficency of using that budget. To give a perspective on that money..if Germany wouldnt spend it on anything else it could afford around 13 US Ford Class Aircraft carriers (at around 12.8 billion each)...or around 11.000 Leopard 2A7V main battle tanks (o.o15 billion each)....per year Military economy is a really scary subject.....just thinking about the US budget is nuts....

[@neues3691]

370.000 ist glaube ich mit der aktuellen Demographie auch schlicht nicht machbar. Wir hatten schon ernsthafte Probleme auf die geplanten 195.000 aktive Soldaten anzuwachsen. Da hat sich über Jahre nicht viel getan. Wir können also ein bisschen beim Material nachbessern aber große Bewegung beim Personal ist nicht zu erwarten.

[@13deadghosts]

@@neues3691 Ist ja auch kein Wunder, so wie die Medien auf der Bundeswehr herumgeritten sind. Und wenn man sich so ansieht, mit welchen Verteidigungsministern die Bundeswehr die letzten Jahrzehnte so geschlagen wurde, da hätte ich auch keine Lust zu dienen. Da jagt eine korrupte Sau die nächste.

[@noobster4779]

@@neues3691 370.000 ist sehr wohl machbar, war es ja vor 30 Jahren auch und da war Westdeutschland noch nahezu um 16 Millionen Einwohner aus dem Osten ärmer. Das Problem ist das heute zu wenig Leute bock habe auf die Armee aber Demographisch, trotz der massiven Überalterung, sind 370.000 machbar. Vor allem da im Gegensatz zu früher ja alle Geschlechter zum Militär können. Deutschland hat ca. 11% Einwohner im Idealen Militäralter von 20-29 Jahren, das sind knapp 8 Millionen. Wie gesagt das Problem ist das keiner zum Militär will (aus gutem Grund). Rein von der Bevölkerung ist es möglich eine größere Armee aufzustellen, auch wenn die Altersgruppe eigentlich vom Zivilleben gebraucht wird weil sie schrumpft. In Ländern wie Russland sieht das übrigens nicht viel besser aus, deren Bevölkerung schrumpft massive durch die geringe Geburtenrate und Abwanderung

[@leonfa259]

@@noobster4779 Damals hatten wir einen legitimen Grund, aber darauf Milliarden auf anderen Kontinenten z.B in Afghanistan und Mali zu versenken hat nicht einmal die CSU Lust.

[@technokicksyourass]

Agree, 2% of GDP on defense in today's world is a joke. I struggle to understand what more German's need to see to realize that the world is no longer a place where the power of the USA to deter violence is unquestioned. If we want to live in a world without wars, then all the democratic allies have to get over history, and start helping out. Especially in navy. US Navy not what it was.

[@DanielWW2]

Well, at least Germany has made a statement of intent. Over here in the Netherlands the silence about our own armed forces is deafening... And it is pretty stupid seeing as just how large the cooperating between the Dutch and German armies truly is. Dutch military needs and political will, could very well influence German decision-making because they are so intertwined. Further by agreeing on a more joint strategy, the total cost of procurements for army weapon systems might also be lowered. This because the Dutch army also desperately needs tanks again, reactivate its most of its PzH2000 fleet on top of the already planned modernisation of the vehicles with the German army, obtain spare parts for a lot of its German made vehicles, maybe another run of of the joint Dutch-German Boxer APCs would be required etc. And in return the Dutch air force could very well help the Luftwaffe to become more familiar with the F-35A. That might also be an interesting point because from what I know, the KLu apparently isn't that happen with the current numbers of F-35A jets. The total ordered already has been raised from 37 to 46 (original intend was 85), but I would not be surprised if that number might go up again, if anything because of the strong F-35 lobby. Something that once again could be coordinated with Germany to get the price down a bit...

[@noobster4779]

I though your army was the trailer park armada leaving the neatherlands each year in summer :D

[@delfinenteddyson9865]

@@noobster4779 hahaha

[@paulcollins5423]

Please don't forget your navy! It used to be a serious force but, like the Royal Navy, has seriously eroded since the end of the Cold War. Get back to where you used to be (as must we). In friendship, from the UK.

[@ianwhitchurch864]

@@paulcollins5423 My suggestion would be for the Dutch to go 'Look, Germany, we'll build and operate the frigates and corvettes and you build an operate the actual army, ok ?'.

[@paulcollins5423]

@@ianwhitchurch864 Agreed! (Although how about having Destroyers again as well? From a UK point of view, I wish that our Lords and Masters would do the same but, given the post-Brexit set up, they seem enslaved to this idea that we should be global (sure, no problem) but that this somehow means not working with our old allies if they are in the EU. Daft!

[@THEALKYL]

All the programs that are already in the process of being completed (e.g. G36 replacement, PUMA, Eurofighter air to ground capability with GBU-48, new French/German Transport Airwing with C-130J Super Herkules, A400M, TIGER, NH90 etc.) and the minimum requirement for ammunition, fuel and spare parts that are not being met at the moment alone will eat up these billions before even one F35 is being paid for.

[@BoleDaPole]

Yup, german army is incredibly weak, and that's by design, the leftists are deeply afraid of the military and the general public despises them too.

[@filippopotame3579]

From the French perspective it looks like Germany is trying to jeopardise its industrial cooperation with France and just buy American stuff.

[@TrccrT]

@@filippopotame3579 the fcas jet is still some years in the future, so there are no real alternatives to the f35?

[@wiryantirta]

@@filippopotame3579 the fact they only acquired 32-36 units (3 squadrons worth) and how its worded, they only acquired the F-35s for the nuclear strike role (although of course they can be used for conventional roles as well). The fact that they need those Tornado replacement technically 10 years ago, and 3 squadrons for an Air Force the size of Germany sounds more like a stop gap measure probably means the French wouldn't be too worried.

[@bighands69]

Germany already has an impressive air force of about 240 combat aircraft and getting that active again will cost several billion. An F35 program will take several years to set up unless that is the goal of the politicians to buy time so they can get back to doing nothing.

[@deckape714]

Thanks!

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Wow, Guy, thank you so much for the support!

[@LogicalMan6]

Then Germany unveils the Nuclear Powered Landkreuzer P. 2000

[@Valks-22]

Maus Ausf. G - Five rotating 150mm cannons, 250 tons, 100km/h top speed

[@jx6135]

This is the Captain, plot course for Kalinigrad and be sure everything is loaded

[@LogicalMan6]

@@Valks-22 with uranium shells

[@juliomontega2868]

Either that, or the Battlemech XD

[@simwish6921]

I think as the initial shock of the invasion passes so will enthusiasm for the increased spending politically and in the system. While overall there will be an increase it will not be as big as it was made out to be

[@visassess8607]

Yeah I agree. The invasion of Ukraine was a shock but now weeks of combat shows Russia's fighting abilities and the push to rearm is showing not to be the big deal it was made out to be.

[@bighands69]

@@visassess8607 What has happened in Ukraine has not shown Russia's fighting ability. Russia did not commit its air force nor did it go all out in its attack. If Russia decides to take Europe it will take the gloves off and their sheer volume of fire power will be nothing like what is displayed in Ukraine at the moment. Ukraine is only 1% of Russia firepower on display they have far larger stocks of weapons than they used. This would be the worse time for European countries to take their foot off the accelerator as there may never come another opportunity to up grade their defences.

[@Archenw]

@@bighands69 it's more like 10% of its firepower

[@ethanmcfarland8240]

@@bighands69 Sure bud, why aren’t they in Kyiv?

[@EatMyShortsAU]

Exactly my thoughts. Plus Russia seems to be on the back foot now retreating from Kiev area. Germany just needs help the Ukrainian army with ATGMs, drones etc for a few more months and years in which should fend off the Russians.

[@WhiskyCanuck]

This week Canada has also announced the intention to order 88 F-35s to replace the CF-18 (CF-188 technically). Perhaps it's a subject worth a video? (history of the project & alternatives that were considered & rejected and why - also note the Boeing/C-Series issue)

[@XxBloggs]

I think it’s simply a subject of embarrassment.

[@bigmatthews666]

Good Canada needs new Planes

[@bighands69]

Canada needs all of its current CF-18 and the 88 F-35's on top of that. Canada has two decisions to make either increase its navy (lot more expensive to do) or increase its airfare attack capabilities. The F-35's would be great for recon level patrols of the Canadian massive coast line.

[@wombatwilly1002]

Only because the Sopwith Camels were on back order

[@CDNShuffle]

@@wombatwilly1002 they only had to do that because the Wright Brothers turned them down for a fighter run on spare bike parts.

[@VoltaireVoltaire-zq4zh]

For once the French seem to have developed a more rational policy: the French military budget increased by 1,7 billion euros per year over the last 5 years (a + 30% of the overall budget) and the new plan is to step up that increase by 3 billion per year over the next 5 years (most candidates have a similar target), so this allows for a much more strategic approach in military spendings and development. Of course, France does not have the same investment capacity as Germany so there are issues abut whether it will be able to afford it without increasing France's debt too much, but at least this allo for a good planification and thus better value for the money spent.

[@cheveuxjaunes2782]

France is not in the same state militarily as Germany. It is the second arm of NATO, the first in Europe, with already an almost complete military-industrial complex.

[@Casey093]

Germany is too comfortable with letting problems exist and grow for decades, and when the fire gets too big just throw hundreds of billions of money on it, in one big push. Then the problem is already out of mind, and never spoken about again.

[@mortenlund1418]

Quote: "For once the French seem to have developed a more rational policy" ?? A real rational policy would be to merge the production and development and maintenance costs and operating expenses etc on the continent. This divided and over bureaucratized, everyone will be chief, so lets hire some more, is making an inefficient defense of continental Europe.

[@micumatrix]

Well it would be nice if the french would be able for more compromise when planning together new arms. They always want the money of the others, but expect to lead projects and their industry always get s the lion share. See Eurofighter and other projects. A politician remarked that France is big in announcing big spending on european plans, gut usually meaning the others paying and say less what they are willing to pay alone...This must change!

[@cheveuxjaunes2782]

@@micumatrix France has the competence not the others You take the example of the eurofighter but look at the result compared to the Rafale France is the first arm of Europe, the second of NATO with a 100% independent industrial military complex which is among the best in the world from a technological point of view Do you prefer to let us manage and have first-rate weapons or want to impose your actors and drag everyone down. Unlike Germany, France is at war and we need the best.

[@pogo1140]

Correct me but when the USAF needed an ECM aircraft they took existing F-111's and converted them to produce the EF-111, the US Navy's early EA-6's jammer aircraft were converted A-6's before the US Navy ordered 170 EA-6B's to fill out 19 squadrons

[@delfinenteddyson9865]

I suppose it's worthwhile when you have enough squadrons to equip or have planed ahead of time. I think the french rafale has electronic combat capabilities as well.

[@fatalityin1]

No offense, but did you hear that mention of bavarian industry in this vid? Did you also know that all western encryption based government agencies are based on java with their extensive cryptography library? Did you know that java is owned by oracle? Did you know that oracles main income is sap? Did you know that the german based sap with its subsidiaries also researches military jet electronics and encryption, automated hacking machines, ai weapon plattforms in top secret labs guarded by the BND and CIA and are all located in bavaria? And currently that company has maybe just around 17k employees, but they are researching AI weapons and communications like crazy, they even built a brand new university not even 6 years ago. This shows several things: ecm is not just counter meassures, it also means proactive hacking of enemy electronics and since on paper that company is still the contributor for Germany they try to outfit Germany first with the best ecms and they research automated systems for its allies. I remember that the US bought the Puma AI for their own stryker and bradley, In the end it just shows how much trust allies are giving each other, the US funds a german company to create next gen weapon systems and expect germans to also share with them

[@fatalityin1]

By the way I worked for both an undisclosed hacking lab and airbus defence and space and my contract doesn't forbid me to say as much: we should hope that western vehicles never see the battlefield

[@elektrotehnik94]

@@fatalityin1 It's all about relative strength &relative corruption versus our enemies. Against Russia, our corrupt system is God level, it seems so far. China seems to be a bit more competent, but not really that much. Between the information blockade cracks, a lot of rot is revealed there too.

[@TysoniusRex]

Wow. Another fascinating, most informative video, Chris. The most interesting part for me was your discussion of the options for how the 100B 💶 might be used. My initial interpretation was that the funding would be made available on top of the defense budget for the purpose of quickly rebuild capabilities. The option you suggested as the most likely (if I understood correctly), that the funds would be costed over a three year period...is disturbing. As you note, there is currently no alloance for an increased defense budget with the next government. Aside from the potential difficulty of ramping up spending to meet the 2% target, there is of course also the possibility that that government will forego this commitment. People have short memories and politicians are of course notoriously fickle in their priorities and positions. I hope Germany holds to Chancellor Scholtz's commitment, but it certainly seems uncertain at this time.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

The 'good' news in this regard is that Germany does look like it wants to spend that money. The other 'good' news is that the main parties (expect the odd MP) all agree it is the right thing. The 'bad' part is that they disagree how its done, partly for political and partly on practical grounds. Scholz promised a lot, potentially too much. We will see.

[@Furzkampfbomber]

Most of this money will just trickle away and five years from today, the Bundeswehr will look exactly as bad and will be just as inoperational as it is now, I would be willing to bet on this. Apart from having one female minister of defense after the next, which is actively _hating_ the Bundeswehr and only sees it as her own feminist playing ground, the whole system is so amazingly corrupt that one would need to burn it to the ground and begin completely from scratch in order to get rid of the corruption. And especially this feminist BS will not end just because a little war with Russia shows all the flaws in our increasingly failing democracy in brilliant vividness The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, as of yet a military man with experience and insight; who is calling out the bad shape of the Bundeswehr for year now and got completely ignored, has been replaced by a quota woman with _zero_ experience, but, of course, with a history of corruption. Ursula Fond of Lying spend hundrets of millions for consulting contracts not only with a personal female friend of her and Merkel, but with McKinsey, where several of her own children work in management positions. And when you consider not only how _blatant_ and unashamed those people plunder us and this nation, but how suspiciously and completely ignorant our equally corrupt mainstream media are against this downright criminal activities, then I really can't see how anything is supposed to change. The Bundeswehr is not an army anymore, it's the personal play ground for incompetent quota women and left/green vandalism and apart from that, a nice excuse to steal another 50 billion from the german tax payer. Mark my words, this money will just... vanish and the Bundeswehr in five years will be just as rundown and inoperational as it is now.

[@babboon5764]

@@MilitaryAviationHistory Chris there is a quip you may have come across before - but in case you haven't ......... *Old age, cynicsm & treachery will triumph over youth, optimism and enthusiasm* You already outlined how Bavaria is trying to spin perceptions. Put your money on the Political hacks using the extra money to take the pressure off upping the other spend needed to bring defence up to 2% of GDP as soon as the outrage about Putin's attrocities damps down.

[@leonfa259]

@@MilitaryAviationHistory The end of the afghan war seamed like a major accelerator. Pacifism is not opposed to a strong defence only unpopular offensive and aimless wars are not wanted. As long as Military spending is focused on national and European defence we have a broad coalition supporting it.

[@Hybris51129]

This is how I pretty much summed it up for my coworkers who don't follow international politics or military history much or at all. Germany at best is going to start spending money but how it actually goes about it is still up in the air. For me personally its the fact that even if they spend the money it will be years maybe even a decade to ramp up their forces to a basic state of readiness and training. You can't train soldiers in a day and you can't buy weapons on Amazon with next day shipping (Yet...) so I think this reality will test the long term stamina of the German people when in a year they ask "Are we ready yet?".

[@nickkaning7616]

Military aviation history: "Any spending more than $25 million must be approved through parliament. " USA: "Amateurs!"

[@prosterdbz9663]

It's 25 million €, not $. That is equal to $27.612.500, so a bit more than you said.

[@bighands69]

@@prosterdbz9663 The US spends $800 billion per year on its military and hundreds of billion more on research and then has an industry that spends several hundred billion more. Hence why America would call them amateurs.

[@prosterdbz9663]

@@bighands69 I know that, just wanted to point out his (small) mistake.

[@happykiwi]

A lot of US government money goes unaccounted for until an audit is performed to figure out where spending actually happened. It's nuts that the government hasn't put into place laws or written contracts that prevents corporations from ripping them off but I suppose it's a known flaw that is allowed to happen because officials also profit off of it

[@Ginkoman2]

@@prosterdbz9663 Thats why we call people like you Korinthenkacker in yermany

[@EK-gr9gd]

Sorry, Chris but all "short term planning" , has gone out of the window, on 24th February 2022. I looked in the planning and these are just rough numbers. Which are modeled by the BMF, they still need to go into the several comities. There the "hard bargaining" will take place. Judicially the 100 billion special fund is a trick to bypass some restrictions in German budget law. The primary problem whicht has to be solved first, is to make the BW administration and the branches of BW capable to invest /consume these funds. In the past couple of year the ministry of defence returned large sums of its budget to the BMF because it was not able spending it as intended.

[@bighands69]

Germany already has a large airforce and needs to get that up and running.

[@EK-gr9gd]

@@bighands69 But it disbanded it's maritime fighter bombers (today mrca) The are need to defend the Baltic.

[@spackle9999]

I think this situation could lead a rapid procurement with no overall strategy. What is the "German Doctrine" of war? What's their plan for current and future threats like drones, hypersonics, advanced ECMs, etc. They explicitly state they are taking advantage of relaxed procurement to quickly buy proven equipment and material. That just sounds like a recipe for a hodge-podge military with no cohesive battle plan for future threats.

[@delfinenteddyson9865]

I do believe they already have a doctrine, just by being part of Nato if any, but alot of their equipment has been economised away, so just getting all their stuff in working order would be already good enough.

[@kilianortmann9979]

Germany will always deploy as part of a European or NATO effort, so a lot of the complex missions like AWACS, ELINT and refueling are managed together. As horrific as the Ukraine war is, it has also shown that in a conventional war the EU is probably fine. There are active efforts to boost the German air defenses, the F-35 will take over nuclear deterrence and hyper-sonic missiles are not an issue. The one that Russia deploys is just an air launched SRBM, nothing new. Advanced and armed drone warfare capabilities will also be introduced. The military knows what they want and this is the time were they might be able to get it.

[@nco_gets_it]

100 billion will acquire so little it is not worth talking about.

[@kilianortmann9979]

@@nco_gets_it That 100bn is capable of buing 500 5th gen fighters with support and spare parts, which is about 475 more than Russia has.

[@technokicksyourass]

This question is well worth thinking about, especially given the ass-kicking Russian armor suffered in Ukraine and Albania. Infantry armed with easy-to-use man portable missiles, supported by drones, artillery/PGM and good air defense is the way to go now. The age of the tank is over. So I do hope the politicians give the military planners what they want, as opposed to buying whatever the industry in their electorate produces.

[@cannonfodder4376]

Yet another balanced and well explained objective video on a complex topic in these emotionally charged times. I can always rely on you for excellent reporting on German defense news. Good stuff.

[@foolsgold9993]

I'm always astonished by not only your extensive knowledge and understanding these complicated matters but also how well you communicate the core issues eventually delivering results in the real word. With all the hubris on the Net we need you to understand what and why is happening and have a solid idea about what future might be like. Thank you for your hard work.

[@tsegulin]

Agree totally. Chris may not be a native English speaker but I find he can communicate complex issues more clearly than many so-called experts on the net.

[@daszieher]

Don't forget the hubris in parliament, where actually improving defense capabilities come second to any other interest elected officials may have. And don't forget, there is a LOT of stupidity going around at the top levels.

[@babboon5764]

@@daszieher Yebbut that's because there's a lot of stupidity amongst the electorate too ........... So the Political hacks partly exploit that to line their own & their Cronies' pockets And partly because they're lightweight popularists more worried about votes than doing what's right. The gaps in the UK Air Defence are terrifying - and they got there to fund tax giveaways & buy votes.

[@hanneshartmann3671]

A big problem in all this is the "Schuldenbremse / Spending Breake" that was introduced in the German constitution to battle state debt. It was useful to do that but in times of crysis it limits the amount of money the state can throw at problems. Currently two of the three government parties (Social Democrates and Green Party) are in favour of lifting this break or at least pause it for a time while the third (Liberal Party) is hardcore on keeping it. Now if we spend 100 billion on the army without lifting the spending break there would be little ressources left to battle other problems that are just as important (like reconstructing our energy production to become independent of Russia (and other authocracys) as well as to battle climate change) or to support the economy.

[@feprivat]

That's why they want to put these 100 billion into the constitution as "Sondervermögen" (special fund). Thus it won't touch the "Schuldenbremse / Spending Brake" on paper... and all other planned spendings. 2/3 parliament majority is needed to put this into constitution. And the biggest opposition party CDU has already signaled approval because that's also the way they desire. Also, with putting it into the constitution this fund can't be changed to be spend on something else instead of the Bundeswehr/army anymore later on.

[@michelangelobuonarroti4958]

And in all honesty it really remains to be seen whether it really is necessary for Germany to indebt itself over comparatively less societally beneficial things such as military equipment. Russia is the only possible threat to Germany, and before Germany is in direct danger the Russians would have to push through Poland and the Baltics who in turn have the support of ALL of NATO in such an event. And the performance of the Russian military in Ukraine suggests that Russia really is not capable of defeating Poland. And then there also is the killer argument of nuclear weapons which throw you into a somewhat less dangerous Cold War situation in which idiotic moves like what Putin did in Ukraine are a guaranteed no and the only possibility for war is brinkmanship gone horribly wrong. Does that mean Germany should just hide behind its allies and the nukes as before? Absolutely not. The Bundeswehr right now is not a fully combat ready an combat capable force, and that needs to change, there also are areas with significant deficiency which I don't hear many people talk about like strategic air defense, BUT Germany and Europe at large has chosen that they don't want to militarily stand on their own 2 feet (say with an EU army f.ex.) and instead want to keep the US led NATO system. As such any sort of planning into what force the Bundeswehr should be and what it mission is definitely needs to be looked at through the context of NATO. Germany simply cannot afford having a military that can operate strategically independent globally like the US can. There are big challenges which Germany sees itself confronted with right now and they need a lot of money, most pressingly climate change (including energy transition and the fundamental rework of transport infrastructure) and demographic challenges which will draw a lot of social expenditure.

[@minimax9452]

They are lifting the break of the "Schuldenbremse" so ignore the constitution and want to introduce the 2 % Nato requirement into the constitution at the same time. 😅

[@bighands69]

@Hannes Hartmann German has two choices to make where it can either live in a fantasy world were issues like infrastructure spending can be somehow magically conflated with military spending or it can invest in its military defence system. This is a golden opportunity that may never arise again to get the space to be able to build up the defence system before WW3 comes along. If anybody thinks Russia and China are going to stop they are in for a big surprise.

[@mangalores-x_x]

It is not just the "Schuldenbremse", it is fundamental budget rules that are violated. Namely a budget is supposed to contain all expenses for a year and you are not supposed to incur debt to create money you then expend whenever you feel like it (a big problem of budget spending is actually the inability of ministries, including defense, to actually spend the money assigned to them). For that you need a financial construct like this special fund. This in turn violates investment and debt rules in general as it is completely debt financed.ü The main problem is to take 100 billion now when there is no debt ceiling due to Corona and then try to park it for multiple year instead of having it planned in the coming budgetary year again.

[@legiopatrianostra4702]

French here , Russia is no longer a conventional threat to Germany, their tanks are moving 1 km a week. it is a good thing that Germany boosts its military budget, hoping they bet on more sophisticated military developments and more adapted to real threats, Ground Air Batteries, Anti-missile Shield, Hypersonic Missiles, Furtive Aircraft, submarines with cruise missile capability, new satellites etc. . i am concerned that part of this new budget is almost entirely allocated to the restarting or renewing of existing equipment.. Great Moove Germany

[@kaystephan2610]

There are two main problems that we have here: efficiency on money and efficiency on decision speed. We are OVERLOADED with bureaucracy and outdated government institutions. Fax machines are the most modern shit we have in government offices 😑😑😑 Combine that with different government offices not knowing what the other one is doing, them demanding shit again and again cause you send shit in but it just gets lost etc. and you get YEARS of time until things are even approved and anything can even start practically. Then there is the issue that things just get overpaid. A normal set of wrenches might cost you 60 bucks. The government buys from the producers directly, gets a bill that states, say, 200€ for the same fucking set of wrenches and...it's just paid. And it goes like that all the time for everything.

[@xelaxander]

The Bundesrats Entschließung is such a Bavarian move. If there’s investment money to be had, CSU makes damn sure their clientele gets a sizable chunk.

[@Kr0noZ]

Well, I don't really see a problem if it so happens that Bavaria is home to a manufacturer of usable equipment. Airbus has a presence there, so does KMW (who produce the Leopard tank) and there are other suppliers for components in the region as well. Spending the money domestically will, by virtue of tax revenue, make some of it come back to the state down the line.

[@xelaxander]

​@@Kr0noZ It‘s not necessarily bad. But believe me, I‘m Bavarian. Bavaria always pushes for a bit more of the pie than what would be fair. Same goes for infrastructure investment. When the CDU/CSU is in power, the transport secretary‘s unofficial job is to get money into Bavarian roads. It‘s not overt but it really shows over time.

[@Kr0noZ]

@@xelaxander I'm aware of that - I live there as well 😉 Still, my state getting better deal never hurts.

[@Amlaeuxrai]

I have it, Scholz told me to hold onto it a few months in a high-interest savings account

[@andreinarangel6227]

In ref to a Eurofighter ECR version, please take into account that it cost the US approx $ 2,419,300,000 for Research Development Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) of the EA18G. Each of the 160 Growlers cost $97,803,000. Assuming that the Luftwaffe wants to equip its ECR units at roughly the same capabilities as the EA18G, what would that make the per-unit cost of the puny 15 EF2000 ECR?

[@dnocturn84]

The idea is solely based on supporting local industry. And of course, it's also a good idea to stay on track with technologies, instead of sourcing it to someone who will become monopolist in this area, while you slowly loose your skills in that field over time, by simply buying it. And the Typhoon has proven to be a very potent fighter plane, from our perspective. Why not continue with that platform?

[@roberts9095]

So this proves that the German government was well aware that the F-35 was the only viable replacement for the Tornado and only rejected it because there was no immediate security need for it, it took increased tensions with Russia to scare them into making realistic and rational defense decisions. I still think that the unmodified F-35 would make a better EW platform and the Eurofighter should remain a dedicated air superiority fighter

[@MarktheRude]

"Aaaand it's gone"

[@tobiasjenchen4647]

"What do you mean? I-I have a 100 billion €!"

[@andresmartinezramos7513]

JAJAJAJA

[@alexaurel6345]

Where the money did go? to Mckinsey of course!

[@TheWeatherbuff]

I don't really understand how these things work in Germany, so I'm not qualified to give an opinion. But... I know spending this kind of money and making the actual changes will take time. Hopefully things will come to a resolution in Ukraine soon. I hope Germany won't put on the brakes if/when things slow down in the current war. I DO understand the bureaucracy and political fighting, (I live in the USA). Overall, I am glad to see Germany increase defensive measures. That's the world we live in, unfortunately. Thanks Chris.

[@srccde]

The bureaucracy in Germany is a nightmare. For example, Germany needs to build new terminals before LNG can be imported. Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, has estimated that, for one such new terminal, planning alone will take around 1,5 years and building another 3,5 years (judging from the government's reports on previous projects) in the *best* case. In the worst case, things may take four times as long. Just look at the BER airport disaster for reference.

[@johnharker7194]

I lived in Germany in a non military context for a few years. My opinion is that the municipalities and regional governments are extremely efficient, among the best in the world. I have no firsthand experience with the federal government. But the Germans I worked with would get a look on their faces when talking about their federal government that was similar to the face you get when opening an abandoned refrigerator.

[@penultimateh766]

I seriously doubt that even the most favorable possible outcome in Ukraine will leave Germany feeling comfortable about her vulnerability....

[@dnocturn84]

@@penultimateh766 Exactly. This war destroyed our illusion/vision regarding long lasting peaceful times with Russia, no matter the outcome of the war itself. They lied, we believed it. Others warned us, we ignored it. And of course, we ignored quite a bunch of warning signals and dark events every now and then as well. For the sake of a better future and because we grew to be way too comfortable. Our belief, Russia would slowly grow closer and never act violently, due to trade benefits, profits both would make through this and shared opportunities for all of us. This was wrong and we should have been more careful with our relationship with them and we should have been better prepared in general. Germany has been a flagship of pacifism in the last decades, when compared to its history and to our neighbours and partners around us. We continuesly reduced war material in our country and we were pretty much hoping, that would become a trend for the others as well, especially when looking at former "enemies", on the other side of the former Iron Courtain. This wasn't the case and we do look like idiots right now. This will change. It simply has to.

[@VladRadu-tq1pg]

@@penultimateh766 once again the overhype of russia lingers..

[@RyanHellyer]

That "Hang on this pain will end" thing is super useful and actually makes me less likely to skip ahead.

[@Davey-Boyd]

Yeah me too. It's actually a great idea.

[@Starsky3022]

10:30 I think this will go down the same way of more or less all government initiatives in the last 20 years. Getting grinded down by the German bureaucracy into basically nothing

[@arnonym4513]

On point 👌🏻👌🏻

[@americanpatriot2422]

As always an Outstanding video and presentation.

[@LogieT2K]

The EW typhoon is a verybinteresting decision. Good for airbus no doubt and the FCAS program if the technology is transfered to that program. But i am a but surprised by it as the F-35 already has pretty strong EW capability

[@johnburns4017]

Thanks Chris. Greatly appreciated.

[@mauroinentertainment]

Poland POV:. Russia is invading westward. Germany is beefing up it's army. "Ah s**t, here we go again". Lol.

[@nco_gets_it]

Even if the 100 billion euro amount was an annual increase to the MoD budget for 20 years, it would never provide the money necessary to both modernize and standardize German Forces. An annual budget of 150 billion would not even maintain modern systems in the numbers necessary to have an operationally meaningful German Force. That would not buy a single new system, just maintain a force of current generation equipment large enough to be meaningful. When people look at US DoD spending they immediately point out how large it is. What they don't see is that the vast majority of that budget is paying for professionals and maintenance.

[@bighands69]

Germany military does not need to be as large as the US military. If Germany can get about 200,000 active troops and their current air inventory active they could have a really good defence and that could be achieved with a 2% spenditure.

[@josww2]

Wait and see...when Germany actually spends the money, I'll believe they're serious

[@wanderwurst8358]

Yeah, at the moment all, but these some airplanes, is speculation. This is not a fresh fruit market and real decisions will need some time. 😏

[@scratchy996]

I don't think they actually want to spend any money. That was just a speech to look better in front of their own public and Nato, after shitting the bed with the help for Ukraine. It will all sink into the bureaucracy swamp soon enough, not even one pair of socks will be bought. You can forget about those F35 planes.

[@JamesLaserpimpWalsh]

Cheers Chris. Thanks for the insight dude. Keep up the good quality work.

[@jameswyre6480]

In light of Russia’s debacle, Germany needs to also emphasize combined arms training, not neglect the infantry component, and look to culturally support their military becoming a more valued part of society. Humanity has never been capable of peaceful coexistence for long, and totalitarian governments will never cease existing and aggressing. Idealistic magical thinking isn’t the way any more than excessive militarism had been in the past.

[@bighands69]

First of all they need to develop a defence force in their culture and realize that it has nothing to do with their historical military activities and that it is to defend their country and the countries around them in a major european invasion. If the EU is to work at all large countries like German, France, Spain, Italy and so on must be able to defend Europe. It is absolutely mind boggling that europeans can criticize Americans and British for this and that yet cannot defend their own homeland from a major invasion.

[@piotrd.4850]

Germany should stop being Europan Empire and instead of remilitarizing, simply go 180 on Energiewiende and go for modern nuclear power to DISPLACE gas and coal, then oil. Every Euro denied to Russia is more than pocket of Euros spend on useless hardware which nobody will have guts and skill to use anyway.

[@jxg1652]

@@piotrd.4850 Germany stopped being a European Empire long ago. And I do agree that we should heavily invest in nuclear energy again. But the energiewende was also to quit coal, so we can't call it a total 180. Also, even if Europe denies Russia every single € we are sending them currently, they still get money from China. Enough to make trouble. So we still need a functional army as a deterrent.

[@migrationsforschermitbreit6744]

There is no "Russia's debacle" - it only happens in our propaganda. 150,000 soldiers invaded in the Ukraine, fighting against 209,000 soldiers of the ukrainian army and 900,000 reservists (Ukraine is already "all in"). It was simply too optimistic, but the russian army did a quite good job. Now they changed the strategy, because 100,000 ukrainian soldiers defend Kiev. So "conventional" house fightings would cause appr. 300,000 victims on the russian side. It was too much for Russia and the alternative was to "nuke" Kiev. But Kiev is the craddle of Russia. Now they will go on in the south, encirceling some smaller towns and at the end they have "chicken shooting" like in Mariupol. Any way NATO has lost: The new alliance "Russia + China + India (+satellites) represents 3 big nuclear powers and more than 50% of the world population. NATO has to learn how to behave as the second biggest fish in the pond.

[@sickrantorum693]

@@migrationsforschermitbreit6744 Thinking that Russia, India and China will unite in any way is one of the biggest copes i've seen during this war. You're out of your mind.

[@Del_S]

Given the apparent effectiveness of similar systems in the defence, and the nature of Germany's military being a primarily defensive rather than expeditionary force, I'd expect a decent chunk of the new budget may wind up going towards introducing newer anti-tank and anti-air systems faster, allowing the older but still capable weapons to be stored or transferred.

[@zocker9492]

current plans that have been published were that germany is looking to buy a similar system to the israeli iron dome, F35s, new eurofighters and equipment for soldiers. there is still a lot of money available after that.

[@magecraft2]

I wonder if other Eurofighter users (especially the RAF) would be interested in a EW version?

[@ajback2917]

Not if they have to develop it with the Germans. Painful memories from the Eurofighter development over the last 20 years, plus they'll likely be using different radars.

[@ajback2917]

Sorry the above was from an RAF perspective. Italy would be the other obvious potential partner but they're going with the RAF radar apparently. It's possible one of the export customers or Spain could be interested but they've never operated aircraft like that.

[@omshree901]

I think they are looking forward to Tempest...

[@elktrip2000]

Having been TDY with the Germans in the mid to late 90s. While they maintained the tornado. They were always working very hard to keep it flying due to part wear. I can only imagine how much work is being put in to maintain those same aircraft now. Hopefully they get some more modern less labor intensive acft soon. That being said I see a lot of people saying studying this expense is good abs bad. However, I think any over sight is needed, but there should have been a completion required date. Or just go with the parts needed to fix all of the broken equipment in the German military. As all military’s have equipment they need parts or replacements for.

[@asiftalpur3758]

Wow a new shirt? Man this German rearmament thing is going crazy

[@maade9642]

About buying fast: what I found interesting is, the ATF Dingo was bought really quickly. It was only 11 months between announcing to buy and the first vehicle in the hand of the troops. The defense Minister announced in 1999 an "einsatzbedingten Sofortbedarf" (immediate operational need) for the Dingo and singed a buying deal about 42 million. This was confirmed or something like that by the "Haushaltsausschuss" and they got it exceptionally fast for Germany. Yes, the Dingo was already developed but we learned in the last years that making contracts nowadays need 5+ years, too... So wouldn't that be an option here, too? Announcing the 100 billions are immediate need and outplay the bureaucracy.

[@pawsnpistons]

As usual in german politics, just announcements so far. Only time will tell how much money is really going to get spend.

[@a.g.3540]

Time is not the friend of expensive, long term policy initiatives. The political cycle can often be measured in months. The acquisition cycle for large capital items? A decade or more!

[@Minalkra]

10:50 Too slow, but that's just me - honestly, I'm just glad SOMETHING is being done. As much as I disliked a certain US ex-President's stance on almost everything, I was kind of a bit behind him on the whole NATO thing as a form of rhetoric. Most NATO countries seemed to me to want to hide behind US power instead of being what they actually are - partners. If threatening to leave is what it takes to get some countries to take their own defense seriously, I was behind it. The US has MANY obligations and we can't be there if the entire world explodes into chaos. There are limits to American military power as well as our willingness to defend places that don't seem all that willing to defend themselves. I hope that this marks a shift in European thinking that lasts. Not everything can be solved by economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure. Sometimes, the use of force is required to ensure peace - as backwards as it may seem. And you can have a strong, honored military without falling into fascistic military fetishism. It's HARD - America itself is proof as of late of how hard it is - but doable.

[@TheBooban]

As much as you say you dislike him, Trump was right on everything and its being shown in the actual policies everywhere today in the world.

[@LSgaming201]

@@TheBooban Like what?

[@MrFluidwill]

Excellent video, thanks

[@garrettkajmowicz]

This is sad, but I suppose what should be expected. A country which wants the benefits of NATO memberships without living up to its expectations. I get it - large investments are scary. Indeed, I think buying a major new airframe in the 3 year time period is probably too fast to be reasonable unless you are actively being invaded. And just trying to top up the budget to buy missing spare parts, training equipment, etc., is a great use of a short-term cash infusion. But if there isn't a commitment to maintaining support, it's all a lot of wasted money.

[@cyrilthompson1846]

Great to hear your assessment. A lot clearer than the official. I enjoy your posts . Thank you.

[@paulhill182]

I really enjoy your viewpoints. I have spent considerable time in Germany and you seem to represent the typical Germany viewpoint and how they do business.

[@andrew1230981]

For me the money should go on the fundamentals, logistics and supply meeting the basics and then moving into investments in future hardware. I would be interested Chris from and aviation point of view on a joint eu defence force, what would need to happen the benefits and disadvantages.

[@grizwoldphantasia5005]

Being an American, I of course know little of German or even EU politics, just the very basics, such as one national party having a cousin or sibling in Bavaria with a different name and I have no idea why; then there's France with the right wing Pen franchise run by someone else these days; and Britain with BoJo and two other parties whose leaders I might not even recognize. Hungary's leader scares some people. Poland had some twins for a while, I think. Italy changes all the time with no real effect other than Berlusconi (?) making noises now and then. Any recommendations for a quick, 5-10 minute primer on German and EU politics? Video or reading, no difference. ETA that a cynical guide would be much better than some serious wonky thing.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Bar some simplified guides online for the different countries, here on YT I know of this channel called TLDR News. I haven't watched them for at least half a year but they used to break down part of the politics & institutional powers in some of their videos in a very accessible manner.

[@abc-eq9so]

EU does not have politics, it's a vassal to the US of A. Especially Gemany.

[@craigfarber4614]

Why do you say " BEING AN AMERICAN I OF COURSE KNOW LITTLE OF GERMAN OR EVEN EU POLITICS" ? What does being American have to do with your ignorance? As an American I am very well informed on German and EU politics because I bother to find out!

[@julianshepherd2038]

@@craigfarber4614 maybe you are secretly Canadian. They know stuff.

[@abc-eq9so]

@@craigfarber4614 It's only natural that he does not know as much of EU internal politics as he knows about his own country. I know American foreign policy very well. Felt it when the bombs were dropping but I know nothing about your domestic.

[@blckdrgn813]

0:24 ITS A MACHINE GUN!

[@MichaelJanik]

It goes into Gender studies.

[@filoofox9934]

this. xD

[@Gilder-von-Schattenkreuz]

Pls dont Forget that the Tornado Fleet was also Larger because the Aircraft was used for several other Purposes. And the F35 is currently only Planned for the Purposes of Nuclear Strikes and Electronic Warfare. The Original Purpose of the Tornado was a Multi Role Fighter. So it was used from Air Combat to Close Air Support and Quick Bombing Strikes. But The F35 is currently not Planned to be used here. This might Change and further F35s might be Ordered. Or it might be Eurofighters or another Aircraft. There has been no Decision on this as far as I know.

[@tuomasnurmi7353]

As a pro NATO Finn I would like to see all EU countries re-thinking their defence both in terms of military and military-industrial capability. Increasing spending is a good first step but the goal should be a more self sufficient EU that can take collective a bigger role when it comes to NATO policy.

[@tuomasnurmi7353]

As for Germany, more jets and better tank development.

[@cheveuxjaunes2782]

NATO is American interest not European

[@thedripkingofangmar6778]

Never going to happen, people just don't care

[@ndb6ndk99]

This sounds like a recipe for a bunch of new equipment and manpower that will be mothballed in 3.5 years

[@Rubashow]

After following 20 years of German defense policy I don't know where the money will go but I am very certain that we'll embarrass ourselves all the way.

[@stitch77100]

French here : I'm almost guessing none of this will go into the FCAS, where France is still waiting for the Bundestag to allow its part of the funding. :(

[@verycreativ233]

@@stitch77100 The fcas funding hase been aproved in the bundestag while the last government was still in charge so idk what you're on about but maybe i missed something. in adition to that given that the money is supposed to be spend on european programs (with the f35 being the exception so we keep nuclear sharing capability with the us (hey maybe if FCAS finishes on time we could have nuclear sharing with the french making the F35 unecessary) i'd say that yes some of ti is going into FCAS MGCS aswell.

[@stitch77100]

@@verycreativ233 I'm not sure if you are referring to the vote in June 23 last year, when the Bundestag agreed to spend its share of the funding for the 1B phase of the process, with conditions attached to it for direct control from the Parliament. It was already late compared to its French and Spanish counterparts, given with no such conditions by the way (as if we had some trust in our industries to perform well, within budget and deadlines ;) ) This is not the budget for the program, but only a small part of it (25 millions of 3,5 to 4,5 billions expected, if the information on defenceredefined and ainonline are correct) and it is not clear to me, but apparently the Bundestag wants to be able to cut down funding if they deem it necessary, and have vote to allow the continuation (or not) of this program every few months. Nothing of the sort in France nor Spain. French side even agreed in 2020 to the spending of the whole R&D budget of 1,4 billions in one go (according to aviationweek and other websites, in English)

[@rollingfrequencies3340]

Germany : Yo russia .... Russia: yo what up germany? Germany: 50/50 Poland ?

[@tomsmith2209]

If German politicians are anything like UK politicians, I'd wait until it actually happens before getting excited about it. Talk is very cheap over here. It is nice to dream though.

[@Sp3rw3r]

Question about procurement. In the Netherlands the government also wants to increase spending for the military to increase strength "fast". However procurement rules demand all competitors can try and get the contract. Maybe next year we can start ordering things. Then they still have to be created. Seems we are "fast tracking" to get new things in maybe four years. I'm sure the military is delighted (not!). Are there similar issues in Germany?

[@WhatIfBrigade]

My prediction is German & EU procurement will be slow (as usual), but that the millions of Ukrainian refugees now in Eastern Europe and their many hosts are going to push the EU towards higher military spending. France has been pushing for more European capabilities for years and Poland and the Baltics are going to be pushing hard also. If Finland and/or Sweden join NATO Germany will be surrounded by neighboring countries all pushing for much higher military spending.

[@timschabla4377]

Zu langsam? Viel zu langsam!^^ - dramatische Pause - Vielleicht haben wir dann auch bald wieder Notfall-Schutzunterkünfte in Hamburg xD -- Ich glaube wir sollten erstmal eine Kreativ-Force einrichten, um viele mögliche ganz neue Ideen zu entwickeln. Hmh, die Elfi ist fertig, aber wir finden bis dahin andere Millardenlöcher zum "Stopfen"^. Also zunächst erstmal veraltete Truppenausrüstungen ersetzen und dann die Munition auffüllen. Dann ists sicher schon weg^^ Aber wir haben ausgebildete Profis mit einsetzbaren Geräten und Waffen. Das sollte in meinen Augen das Ziel mit dem Geld sein, nichts anderes. Flugzeuge und Co. dauern eh länger, das sollten grundlegende Erhöhungen decken. Sehr tolles Video! Danke dir!

[@Hidrobyte]

The pickle about the 100 billion Sondervermögen is, that the FDP (as the Union) and also parts of the SPD and Greens still are fans of the now constitutional blocking of deficit spending. So this Sondervermögen is a way to get around this stupid law, without getting rid of the law. That's why they don't increase the 50 Billion in the Budget, they would have to cut other parts of the Budget to increase it.

[@MetallicReg]

Which is not possible, since the other parts usually deal with human rights like social spending, ecology and energy.

[@curly_]

Thanks a lot again, what catched my Eye was the mention of Military Satelites and protection and Resilience of OpenSpace. Can we please havfe a Video About Weaponized Satelites or Spy Satelites, i think that would be an hugly intresting Video.

[@jakobnuernberger94]

First thing that came to my mind when I read the title: "Where's the money Lebowski!?!" Why are these blockheads (possibly) thinking in such short terms, when it comes to defense spending. I mean, they planned the exit from coal power until 2030, which is also not covered by their current terms of service (not even by the next legislative period), so why not plan for the long term on this matter as well? Also: I know this isn't a 100% topic for this channel but: I read this morning that the German Navy wants to buy and commission two helicopter carriers, using some of the 100bn€ (which might take a big part out of this ammount, I mean ships are quite expensive).

[@prosterdbz9663]

Do you have the link? I'd like to read it.

[@jakobnuernberger94]

@@prosterdbz9663 As it turned out I'm a fucking idiot and didn't realize it was April Fools yesterday, when an unofficial news page for the German Navy posted that on Instagram. So nevermind that.

[@EatMyShortsAU]

Planning ahead and making sensible decisions does not seem to be what Germany is good at doing lol They were short sighted with relying on Russia fossil fuels, shutting down their nuclear power plants, not investing in their military lol.

[@prosterdbz9663]

@@jakobnuernberger94 Makes sense as I couldn't find anything on that after I read your comment. But I would still like to see it being done as there is now more than enough money there.

[@prosterdbz9663]

@@EatMyShortsAU As a German myself I sadly have to fully agree with you.

[@agskytter8977]

How many V2a1s can be produced at VW-werk in Wolfsburg for €100 billion? (a1 = 2000km range, 10m accuracy) Launched in salvos of 20, 50 or 100 against enemy targets 😎

[@GARDENER42]

That €25 million limit has the potential for politicians to delay & obfuscate over approval for reasons other than an objective consideration of the need for such spending. Many of those politicians will have little knowledge or interest in matters of defence & I absolutely guarantee those with the least knowledge will cause the most difficulty.

[@noobster4779]

I mean that rule exists so germany doesnt go the other extreme (USA) and burns money like crazy on dumb shit that gets justified by invading a country every 10-15 years. Germanys military is a parlamentary army and heavy parlamentary control is a core part of that

[@Starsky3022]

18:30 Why has this not been changed to a "25 million per unit of equipment and/or complete value of X (yearly adjusted depending on inflation)" yet or anything that's more sensible?

[@Praxics0815]

My issue has always been that readiness has been low. We don't need more jet fighter, we need our current jet fighter to be operational. In 2018 there was a shocking report that back then out of 182 Eurofighter in the inventory of the air force only 10 were considered fully operational. There was a prolonged time frame in which all German submarines, of which there are only 6, all have been out of service for maintenance reasons. This appalling state of readiness would be my main concern. We got good stuff, its just that most of it seems to be broken and out of service for far too long. I honestly do not have insight in the inner workings of the Bundeswehr but I think I read that one of the cost cutting measures was to reduce spare part stocks, closing down warehouses, switching over to delivery on demand and outsourcing maintenance to businesses. From my amateurish point of view this seems to not been working. If I have to order a spare part from e.g. Airbus for the Eurofighter and the Eurofighter is currently build at a snails pace then that spare part is probably not available and lead times are high. One of the submarines U36 e.g. run aground shortly after being returned to service. The fear was that the screw might haven gotten damaged I think someone said in an interview that the screw had a lead time of about 6 month. U35 who had its screw damaged in 2017 has been in dock at least to 2020... I don't know the current status of it but 3 years in the dock? Gorch Fock do i have to say more than that name? The ship costs 8,5M DM to build in1958. The repair costs in 2021: 135M Euro. We also need to be smarter about our purchases. E.g. Tiger: Bought it without the nose mounted cannon. Yes you do not fight a tank with that nose mounted canon but what did that thing mostly fight? Some dude on a camel with an AK47 for 10$. Firing a hellfire rocket on that is a waste (hellfire: ~110 000$). Last but not least we should buy stuff that other armies use. Numbers make stuff cheap e.g. a F-35 costs about as much as Eurofighter or a Tiger costs 4 times as much as AH-64.

[@noobster4779]

@@rogersmith7396 Last time we defended ourself in the 1980s uncle sam and friends literally wrote in the german reunification treaty that germany had to disarm becuase they were scared of both germanys merging their armies. To this day germany cant have a bigger active army then 370.000 strong by that treaty. And nobody needed uncle sams protection, didnt help ukraine any bid after all. I could swear the US signed that Budapest Memorandum garanteeing ukraine in 1994... Uncle sam was to busy blowing up the middle east the alst 30 years anyway and creating more enemies then there were before...

[@belgarath6508]

@@rogersmith7396 Symptomatic of an American failing to understand the complexity of the world around him.

[@artoriastheabysswalker3356]

@@noobster4779 Well, the treaty about Germany's military strength ended looking...silly in hindsight, but there's nothing much you can do unless you believe Germany should get rid of it. As for the Uncle Sam protection, I think recent events showed how Europe did rely on it to some degree. Maybe not as much as Roger Smith above might think, but it would be ignorant to pretend Europe probably enjoyed being able to slow down military spending while letting the US do some of the heavy lifting. Now, you would have to include the UK since they did sign the Budapest Memorandum as well. So a European nation was involved. Also, I wouldn't say it was just the US blowing up the Middle East for thirty years. I do recall some European nations being involved as well as some doing their own stuff in a few other places like Africa. So...I wouldn't exactly say it was just the US creating more enemies.

[@verycreativ233]

@@artoriastheabysswalker3356 to be fair even if the european powers didn't scale back military spending the US would still do the heavy lifting. this idea from you guys acting like you wouldn't spend retarded ammounts of money on your army and playing worldpolice is silly. You guys are a superpower you uphold that status in large via your army and said army beign stationed fucking everywhere around your rival superpowers giving you strike capability from every direction in every form is benificial to you. A stronger eruope wouldnt change anythign. the US would for example never hand over rammstein back to germany if they were capable of defending themselves better that airbase is just to vital for you. And i'd even argue that a stronger europe would mean even more military spending for the US cus you wouldn't want a possible centralised european force match(or temporarily even outcompete) yours (even if said force would be an ally).

[@mram4653]

Keep the good work up!

[@artnull13]

6:34 “Our units […] will not only be fully equipped, but also with uniform material.” - oh good Hugo Boss won’t be left out of that €100 billion slice. I’m sure they meant *materiel*.

[@caw25sha]

Ha ha. Maybe "standardised equipment" would have been a better phrasing!

[@mandowarrior123]

I'm sure the troops will enjoy not having to train in their underwear anymore.

[@WasLostButNowAmFound]

I know putin also wears hugo boss.

[@neues3691]

Ich bleibe skeptisch. Auch nach 2014 wurde eine Verstärkung der Bundeswehr angekündigt, passiert ist viele Jahre lang nichts. Natürlich ist der Druck jetzt höher aber ich weiß nicht ob das allein reichen wird.

[@kalterverwalter4516]

Mann musste halte sparen damit Schäuble als super Finanzminister da steht.

[@NaumRusomarov]

Given the apparent disfunction of the german armed forces, perhaps germany should first think about what kind of armed forces it wants and then think how to finance them. Going from 50 bil. to something like 80-90 won't fix anything, the way I see the problem.

[@noobster4779]

We know what armed forces we want: One that can defend the home region and participate in UN peacekeeping missions Nobody in Germany wants to get dragged into US imperialist advantures like Iraq or sit pointlessly in the afghan desert for 20 years again.

[@verycreativ233]

you do relaise that the german armed foces aren't dysfunctional because they don't have a doctrine they're dysfunctional because they didn't get financing. they didnt have issues keepign their planes flying because they didnt have pilots or had no air doctrine they couldnt keep them flying because the government didn't buy spareparts for the planes. Gemran docrine hanst changed since we joined nato wich in turn was just ''blitzkrieg but with actual logistical support from others'' aka a less extensive version of what the Us did during dessert storm . wether or not that would've had any use against the soviets is another thing. But yeha no doctrine is there the army knows what it wnats for what purpose its just that they arent the ones actually doing the buying.

[@User-gk1yi]

We don't have the 100€ billion, it's going to be in form of debt.

[@thetigerking2613]

I don’t think Germany will be able to afford such an extensive rearmament.

[@noobster4779]

Germany had nearly 5% gdp for military throughtout the 1980s...if germany wanted to it could very well afford it but that would mean cutting spending on other stuff domestically, cutting germanys EU contributions or going into debt and none of those things are good. The fact germany didnt spend so much money on the military allowed the eu to prosper massively in the alst 3 decades.

[@verycreativ233]

Yes it can. if our government is good at one thign its throwing money at stuff. only thing that cna happen is that maybe payments into stuff like support for the economic recovery of ex soviet states migth be reduced in favour of throwing even more money at the army. ''affording'' isnt an issue for us applying it in a useful manne rand in time to matter before the next government just throws it all in the trashh is the real issue.

[@thetigerking2613]

@@verycreativ233 To pay for this their has to either be austerity or tax increases, none of which are popular.

[@BleakVision]

They will squander it on pregnancy seats in tanks and jets and on external financial advisors.

[@tsegulin]

I had hoped the EU 100b German defense revitalization was more firm than this. I hope it doesn't become like Canadian politics where the PM makes a big splash with impressive announcements and years later there really is very little to actually show for it. Russia is our northern neighbor and we need German resolve as a solid role model on defense!

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

We will have to wait and see. I think the initial announcement was done with the right intentions, but you can't turn around a whole apperatus just like that. It will require time and the political clashes are a necessary part in this. I think the 'positive' getaway from this is that at least the main parties in Germany all seem to agree that the new direction is necessary (expect the natural exceptions ofc), they just disagree how it's done.

[@TysoniusRex]

I was actually thinking that this situation reminds me of the kind of arrangement the U.S. government produces: Great words, looks nice at first, but in the long run...very little.

[@drcornelius8275]

@@TysoniusRex Except the US has the world's largest and most advanced military and spent $738b or 3.7% of their GDP on it in 2021. Germany only spent $51.3b or 1.4% of their GDP and again failed to meet their NATO 2% GDP obligation.

[@julianshepherd2038]

@@drcornelius8275 but the USA still can't win a war

[@ab-te8kv]

trudeau is a criminal dictator ! My condolences to Canada. ☹ I do HOPE you get quickly rid of that poc.

[@CallsignEskimo-l3o]

Drinking from that coffee cup, while standing next to the less than vertical window, makes it look like this was shot in a fun house.

[@31terikennedy]

Germany's defensive strategy is based on Air Superiority, without it, their ground forces can't maneuver. Buying the F-18 Hornet would make sense because Germany could be licensed to build it and actually get their air industry back.

[@Medieval_Arpad_cooks]

well, using the 100GEUR to top up the defence budget would be a massive backpedal. Scholz said "and". And I have seen estimates that just restocking teh ammo lockwer would take between 20 and 40 GEUR. We need both really.

[@andywindes4968]

This isn't related to your video today, but I have a feeling that you or one of your subscribers might be able to help me. I'm an American whose mom is German (born in Mannheim in 1936), and both of my uncles, who were born in the 1920's, served in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. Both have long since passed, but for my own interest and for the sake of future generations, I'd like to develop some information about these men and what they did in the war. One was killed in 1941 in the early stages of Barbrossa, the other survived four years on the Eastern Front. Ironically, I have much more information about the uncle who died, including his Wehrpass and letters from his CO after his death. The uncle who lived mostly excises his war experiences from his personal history. My question is this: are you, or anyone else here, aware of places where I might dig up information about my uncles' war records? It would be very helpful if these sources were in English since my knowledge of German is limited to two years of high school German from over 40 years ago. Each of my uncles were low-ranking soldiers and I'm certainly not looking to glorify their roles in the war, or for that matter, the state for which they fought. I simply would like to ensure that this important part of family history is recorded. Many thanks to you or anyone else here who might be able to point me in the right direction.

[@thecommissarshatisonfirege4193]

One of the best sources or maybe the best, are the german federal archives, some are actually dedicated to such questions. My siblings and I did some extensive research on great grandparents and uncles of ours, two of which were SS men. Once you have figured out where to look specifically, there are very nice people there to help you find everything you need, maybe even more. Maybe one of those speaks english. Sorry if that is a bit unclear still, but it's the best I could come up with on the spot. Good luck with your search!

[@macattackmicmac]

If he was taken a POW, you might well find some information in Red Cross Archives, I don't know how to go about looking through them, but the German Red Cross should still have maintained records of all POWs.

[@peterschmidt1900]

Not much will change until you reform the defense ministry and the procurement there. And that will be a tough job, which not even zu Guttenberg tried to tackle. Der Spiegel had an good article about this, like 20 years ago, afair.

[@thesuit4820]

Or... and hear me out on this... you could buy 200 really big super yachts and just say you've modernized...

[@Cyberspine]

You can't lose to the Russians if you mirror their strategy.

[@ianstobie]

Or war elephants. Tried and tested. Worked for Hannibal, and later the Romans. Can also be used as an alibi if you lose the battle: "everything was going fine until the elephants ran amuck".

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

I thought we were confiscating yachts, why would we need to buy them?

[@chriswerb7482]

There is no point in spending any money until you have assesses the nature of the threats posed by Russia and decided on a strategy to counter them. Then come the doctrines, force structures and supporting organisations, infrastructure and technologies.

[@Lost-In-Blank]

As Alex A said, to "to Mckinsey of course!"

[@Redmanticore]

in comparison, germany talked about 35 f35´s. finland decided on 64. finland does not have a budget of 100 billion, it used 10 and it was special one-time only deal.

[@miasanmia8905]

Finland also shares a 1300km long border with Russia while Germany is surrounded by allies.

[@mandowarrior123]

100 billion is for everything, all military arms. The bulk will not go to the air force. Germany isn't replacing just yet, but wants its current forces up to scratch too, including existing air force. Also, its the fins. You give the fins a good price. Germany also will want to drop money on its own aircraft.

[@noobster4779]

germany isnt going to use 100 billion on a few stop gap measure fighters. They only buy F35s because they need to for the nuke sharing, nothing else.

[@stitch77100]

Your comment is quite irrelevant, redmanticore. Finland bought a whole new fleet of jet aircraft (I won't say fighters, because it's more of a stealth bomber in its capabilities) where Germany just need those planes in order to carry the new version of the US B-61 (that the US declared they will not qualify on the Eurofighter, nor the Super-Hornet) At least it's the intent yet. The 100b€ won't be all spent on F-35s (I'm not sure they will be spend in the end, like maybe not even half of it, and surely not on long term programs but that's just my opinion)

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

@@stitch77100 a stealth bomber that wipes out fighters at a 20:1 rate at Red Flag? That's a fighter.

[@davidtaylor4832]

I'm pleased to find there is someone looking deeper, rather than just skimming over the surface of "mass media" blurb. Cheers.

[@andreashauschild7757]

I am German, and I can tell you that this money will have very little actual impact. Simply put, Germanies decision making process and red tape will eat the majority of this money up. It is simply German nature to evaluate things again and again and again. The problem with this is, nothing ever gets decided and in the end the decisions are often still idiotic. This mentality starts from small companies and travels all the way the government. Germany is not a country that is adopted to quick chance and actions. I if you look at our military in 5 years from now, nothing really will have changed.

[@Bananaskin101]

I wonder if they are going to use any dual seat Eurofighter trainers, phase them out for the electronic warfare variant and then bolt on the Tornado ECR pods with updates.

[@Sedna063]

Nah. They will most likely use a dual seater as basis for the ECR but they will develop the pods new for the Eurofighter; the equipment in there should be used for FCAS - Eurofighter would serve as testbed

[@moors710]

I think Germany's best defense investment is nuclear power and reasonable hydraulic fracturing ( deep deposits so it does not pollute the groundwater) for natural gas. Alternative energy sources are not here yet and we must deal with the world as it is so we can get to that more desirable future.

[@balllingen]

Thank you Chris for your analysis. The fact that the federal budget does not yet accommodate a defense budget increase to meet the 2% GDP target was an important insight to me. It brings us to a critical question which many of those pushing for higher defense spending are dodging yet: how will be higher defense budget be financed? If you rule out higher taxes or recurrent fiscal borrowing, you gonna have to cut spending elsewhere. I cannot see this debate happening at all - not in the mainstream media and also not on social media. So i wonder what is going wrong here? Of course you never get much applause suggesting to cut down social policy or other important programmes, but if we keep kicking this can down the road we gonna end up implementing short-term, inefficient, unsustainable policies. So how do we restructure the federal budget? I guess this question is slightly more complicated than readjusting the military procurement process since it concerns all members of our democratic society, especially the vulnerable who will most likely pay the price for a more capable military.

[@ilkerkiyak4108]

The U.S. Air Force itself admitted that the F35 failed.

[@xxxm981]

All that money is already lost in the pockets of sales agents and consultants, lol

[@douglas9521]

My thoughts is that I can see why Germany felt the need to do this,but after a month of this war Im surprised they havent cancelled the investment. Russias last card is its nukes and no amount of conventional defence will help with them. Their army appears to be a bust and that wont change unless Russias regime changes. As much as Im for a good armed forces they are very hard to sell to the public when there is no threat and other stuff needs to be done. Its been a long time since I was in the BAOR so I dont know what Germany is like now but I recall a lot of your major roads needed a bit of tlc when I left but Im sure there is other things voters want(and remember now that the Ivans have turned into a joke)

[@noobster4779]

Its not an investmeant really, its a "get what we have combat ready" payment. Germany isnt rearming, those claims are jsut bullshit. Germany is fixing previous missed investmeants to get the army working again. People make it out as if Germany would be buying a new tank while in reality they are just fixing the broken parts that dont allow that tank to move in the first place. If Germany would rearm properly we could easily go back to the west german military of the 1980s...which was only 30 years ago and had a budget of nearly 5% gdp making it the biggest non USA, non Soviet Union army on the planet. The german reunification treaty literally has arms limitations like a maximum of 370.000 active soldiers in it because everyone was scared of both germanys cold war armies merging. Also our roads need repair always...for decades....its a never ending story. Except in Bavaria because for "some reason" every time the conservatives run the country the bavarian party gets the transportation ministery in charge of funding road repair...and guess who has the nicest roads....

[@babboon5764]

A 'joke' deploying Chechen & soon Syrian murderers & torturers with attrocities as a policy measure. Keep putting that in front of the voters and eough might have the wisdom to be mindful what's at stake.

[@watcherzero5256]

The Bundestag list looks quite reasonable, F-35 or F-18, Eurofighter ECR, a replacement of aging Chinooks with either the latest Chinook or King Stallion (with European construction share), another A400m squadron, ammunition and odds and ends.

[@hoggypare7629]

I may be cynical, but I do not believe, and never did, that this process was ever genuine. Let's be frank - no politician is ever going to miss out on going public with policies that have nearly 80% approval. If I remember correctly, Scholz was being considered one of the blandest faces in German politics - after his speech, he was on the frontpages and the whole Bundestag clapped. We should not forget that Germany was politically in bed with Putin for at least last 20 years. The invasion of Ukraine might have been a shock, but it is not like Russians weren't known for their morally dodgy moves in Eastern Europe, including blackmailing with strategic resources, political assasinations and the whole war in 2014 that the West conveniently wanted to sweep under the rug. With some of those Germany was an active collaborator of Russia, chiefly Nordstream 2 which was clearly meant as a political tool in hands of Russia to blackmail Poland and Baltic countries - I do not believe German politicians were ever dumb enough to not realize that, and to make matters worse, they were allowing for this to happan to, technically, their allies in NATO and EU. I also do not believe that the same political establishment (Schroeder is SPD politician afterall) can simply turn around 180 degrees so easily. Basically, I think it is all a political bluff, a PR skit, which will probably crash into the iceberg of bureaucracy long enough for public opinion to get interested in some new hot topic, so it can be nicely swept back under the rug. Maybe some rearmament happens, but probably only in areas where that also benefits political alliances of the ruling elite. And I do not think there will be much backlash for that, especially considering the alternative. Because the money for rearmament would have to come from somewhere, which means either higher taxes or lower social benefits, and I do not think a leftist/green/liberal coalition would be too stoked for any of that. An average person will forget where Ukraine even is in a month after the conflict ends anyway.

[@delfinenteddyson9865]

Man wächst mit seinen Aufgaben, you never know. I hope you are wrong, but I fear you a right x)

[@hoggypare7629]

@@delfinenteddyson9865 Yeah, I would prefer to be wrong as well

[@achillies40]

I thought the next fighter that Germany was going to purchase was the ME109 and FW190. I could be wrong.

[@cym0n]

35 F-35... So few... :(