Re: GAF337


Message posted by FromAcrossTheOcean (Member since 04/21/2021) on August 07, 2021 at 19:34:36 PST:

Well, not sure how this is distributed between the different services, but the German defense budget has increased for four consecutive years in a row now (in billion EUR, equipment purchase in brackets):

2021 - 46.9 (18.2)
2020 - 45.1 (16.6)
2019 - 43.2 (15.5)
2018 - 38.5 (12.3)
2017 - 37.0 (11.2)

Compared to 2017, that's a 27% increase and spending on new hardware is even up by 63% Of course this is still dwarfed by US military spending, which in 2020 was 722 bn $ and thus is approx. twice as high as the total German federal budget of 344 bn EUR for 2018 (pre-COVID and pre-flood) but it for sure reflects the new geopolitical situation.

If you just look at the air force, the C-160 Transall is currently making its farewell tour (see attached link) and the A400M seems to be very active, also with RAF and other allies. Will be supplemented by some C-130J jointly operated with France.

Typhoon another 38 block 4 "Quadriga" planes ordered in 11/2020 for a total of 180.

Future Combat Air System (FCAS) in the usual quarrel with France and Spain over program distribution, totally normal in multinational projects.

Troubled P-3C purchased from Netherlands to be replaced by new P-8 Poseidon

Tornado replacement seems to be still open, but is crucial for "nuclear participation", as already discussed here some time ago

And BTW, in the context of PEGASUS, it seems like the Tritons are out and instead the system is to be based on a Bombardier Global 6000 platform due to issues with operating drones in very congested European airspace (and some people seem not to like to buy "black-box technology").

Overall, as an "interested layperson", I'd say things were certainly in less good shape in the past. Let's see what the federal elections will bring, which are due in 1 1/2 months and appear to be as open as not seen in 1 1/2 decades.

Attached link: https://www.bundeswehr.de/de/organisation/luftwaffe/aktuelles/transall-c160-der-last-call-5040708

In Reply to: Re: GAF337 posted by Joerg (Webmaster) on August 07, 2021 at 18:16:02 PST:

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