The picture shows the F35 fighter
Recently, according to media reports, in order to deal with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Germany's defense budget will break the record highest in history, and at the same time, in order to promote the modernization of the army, it is necessary to buy 35 F35 fighters in one go, which makes the outside world speculate, is Germany also ready to act? Or is it always ready for battle?
With the recent Russian-Ukrainian conflict continued, many countries have made adjustments to their domestic policies, either against Russia, or on military spending, and Germany's recent two decisions can be said to have shocked the outside world, the first is that Germany from the Bundeswehr inventory, take out some deadly weapons to support Ukraine, the second is that the German defense budget will be greatly increased, on the one hand, the increase in special military spending, directly take out 100 billion euros for national defense modernization, on the other hand, the annual military expenditure increases. And in the next few years, NATO's defense expenditure target will be exceeded, that is, Germany's annual defense expenditure will increase to at least 2% or more of the gross national product.
The picture shows a German soldier
You know, subject to Germany's own domestic economy, even if NATO has a national defense expenditure to account for 2% of the gross domestic product, but for a long time Germany has always maintained about 1.5%, former US President Trump more than once stressed that NATO members must talk about military spending to 2%, but Germany did not have such an idea, one is to emphasize that the proportion of military expenditure is not the only criterion for measuring the contribution to NATO, and the other is that Germany believes that the United States continues to demand increased military spending in order to reduce the pressure on the US own military expenditure. Therefore, the defense budget is falling again and again, but if affected by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Germany immediately has the goal of building a modern and strong Bundeswehr, and subsequently increases the defense budget, and the 2% military expenditure requirement may be completed at the same time.
So where will the money go? National defense costs will generally revolve around the modernization of weapons and equipment and personnel, for Germany is no exception, these money may first be used in the army personnel, which will begin to carry out more formal armament training, to improve the quality of soldiers while strengthening the combat effectiveness of troops, followed by the focus on the modernization of weapons and equipment, its main tank Leopard 2 is in urgent need of upgrading and strengthening, and the number is small, and the army ammunition depot is often rumored to be urgent, the manufacture and purchase of air force fighters or therefore shorten the delivery time, Germany's existing air force is dominated by Typhoon and Tornado fighters, which are obviously insufficient, while the manufacture of a new generation of stealth fighters under the framework of the Airbus Group is already in preparation, and the purchase target is on the American F35 fighter.
The picture shows the German Leopard 2 main battle tank
At present, the number of F35 fighters has exceeded 600, its airborne equipment is more modern than the F22, and the use of weapons in the way, stealth advantages are obvious, with advanced passive electronic detection systems, often can be more concealed in air combat, and F35 combat capabilities are very strong, as the assembly of Israel, in the air strikes on Syria, and even the Syrian Air Force multiple fighters directly destroyed in the hangar, and the nearby air defense system is unresponsive. Although the F35 has also been criticized for some defects, it does not affect the welcome of the air forces of various countries, which is why Germany chose it, and it should be noted that Germany, as a defeated country in World War II, cannot have nuclear weapons, but it can use the B61 tactical nuclear weapons deployed by the US military through NATO's nuclear sharing agreement, and the main bomber that can carry the B61 is about to be retired, so the purpose of buying the F35 is obviously for its ability to carry and deliver nuclear weapons.
Now it seems that behind Germany's increase in defense budget, what will lead to it? Whether it is in the United States under Trump to ask Germany to increase military spending, or the European army proposed by the French president, Germany, which seems to support on the surface, has never taken action, but now the move to increase military spending can be seen as an advance layout of the current situation in Russia and Ukraine, and can also be an effective response to some potential threats, but just after Germany has such a move, many European countries have begun to gradually adjust their defense policies, and it is foreseeable that this may bring new changes to the situation in Europe as a whole.
The author of this article is Nanshu.