Bloomberg: Germany to approve €3 billion upgrade of defence equipment

The German federal government reportedly plans to purchase more than €3 billion worth of defence equipment, including combat helicopters from Airbus and night-vision devices from Hensoldt.

Parliament is expected to approve defence procurements worth over €3 billion as part of a broad military modernisation effort, as reported exclusively by Bloomberg, citing a government document.

According to the report, the Airbus contract alone is valued at around €1 billion and covers 20 light combat helicopters.

The list of projects that lawmakers are scheduled to vote on in a closed-door session this week also includes 100,000 night-vision devices from Hensoldt AG and Theon International, valued at approximately €1 billion.

In addition, the defence ministry is seeking approval to purchase more IRIS-T SLM air defence missiles from Diehl, worth another €1.2 billion.

This move would be in line with the German government's defence policy adopted in recent years. Following the outbreak of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the coalition government led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz has launched a comprehensive effort to modernize the Bundeswehr, investing hundreds of billions of euros to strengthen Germany’s defence capabilities.

His predecessor, Olaf Scholz, had famously announced a "Zeitenwende" (German for "turning point") in a 2022 Bundestag speech a few days following Russia's attack on Ukraine, in which he called for a significant increase in military spending and an overhaul of Germany's defence policy.

By Nazrin Sadigova