Germany unveils sweeping plan to build Europe’s strongest army

The German Defence Ministry has submitted a sweeping defence framework to lawmakers, together with a personnel expansion plan, a new reserve strategy, and a set of measures aimed at reducing bureaucracy, as part of an overhaul intended to build what officials describe as the “strongest conventional military in Europe.”

Boris Pistorius told the Bundestag that peace, freedom, prosperity and tolerance can no longer be taken for granted and must be actively defended. He said the government’s “new strategic foundational documents” set out an agenda of modernisation and deregulation designed to strengthen the armed forces, Euractiv reports.

As an initial step, the government has presented to the Bundestag an extensive military defence framework, a personnel expansion plan for the Bundeswehr, a new reserve strategy, and a package of measures aimed at cutting bureaucratic obstacles. Further legislation is expected this summer, including proposals to strengthen reserve forces and accelerate long-delayed infrastructure projects.

The personnel growth plan foresees expanding active-duty strength from 185,420 soldiers today to 260,000 by the mid-2030s, alongside a parallel reserve buildup from around 60,000 currently assigned reservists to at least 200,000, bringing total combat-ready forces to approximately 460,000 personnel. The plan is structured in three phases: a rapid buildup through 2029, a capability-focused expansion through 2035, and a longer-term technology-driven development phase through 2039 and beyond. New legislation that came into force in January 2026 enshrines these milestones in law, with conscription already embedded in the new military service framework as a fallback option if recruitment targets are not met.

While the full text of the overarching military defence concept remains classified, officials said the defence ministry is responding to the altered security environment created by Russia’s war against Ukraine. The strategy is intended to assess how that threat may evolve in the coming years and outline possible wartime scenarios, including situations in which Germany could be required to respond to an attack on NATO territory.

The immediate objective is to rapidly enhance operational readiness by 2029. The longer-term goal is to develop capabilities across all domains, ultimately achieving “technologically superior, highly innovative armed forces” by 2039, Pistorius said.

Taken together, Pistorius said, these measures will make the Bundeswehr “the strongest conventional army in Europe.”

By Vafa Guliyeva