German lawmakers back new Eurofighters under $8 billion spending spree

BERLIN — Germany’s parliament has given the green light for a set of defense procurements collectively worth more than €7 billion ($8.14 billion), with new combat jets topping the list of new equipment.

The purchase of additional tranche-five Eurofighters makes up more than half of the funding allocated today by the parliamentary Budget Committee, at around €3.75 billion ($4.36 billion). The twenty aircraft are set to be delivered from 2031 through 2034. Additionally, the Luftwaffe, Germany’s air force, will receive parts needed for the maintenance of the aircraft, as well as upgraded simulators for a total of €412 million.

In Germany, military purchases worth more than €25 million need approval from the parliamentary budget committee. Lawmakers gave the nod to a total of 14 such planned investments on Wednesday.

The tranche-five Eurofighters will be equipped with more capable EScan radars. The military said that the new jets would be particularly important for electronic warfare, replacing Berlin’s aging fleet of Tornado aircraft. A separate proposal approved on Wednesday involved further upgrading the Eurofighter fleet with updated electronic warfare abilities, particularly the suppression of enemy air defenses, for a total of €1.13 billion, to be completed by 2033.

The latest Eurofighter buy will be financed out of the military’s regular budget rather than the special fund of €100 billion created by the previous government in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Several other projects newly approved will get money from the special fund.

Among the additional spending plans approved this week were new Boxer armored vehicles for training and medical missions, a contract for the production of light, air-droppable land combat vehicles, as well as the development of a new pontoon bridge for river crossings.

The navy, too, will receive new gear as a result of the funds appropriated today, including new medium-range boats for Germany’s maritime special forces and the procurement of mine-hunting sonar systems.

Since the start of the year, the budgetary committee has approved 25 major procurement projects for the German military as the country ramps up its rearmament and seeks to become the strongest conventional army in Europe.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

柏林——德国议会已批准一系列总价值超过 70 亿欧元（81.4 亿美元）的国防采购项目，其中新型战斗机位列新装备清单之首。

采购第五批欧洲战斗机的款项占议会预算委员会今天拨款总额的一半以上，约为37.5亿欧元（43.6亿美元）。这20架飞机将于2031年至2034年间交付。此外，德国空军还将获得用于维护这些飞机的零部件以及升级后的模拟器，总价值4.12亿欧元。

在德国，价值超过2500万欧元的军购项目需要获得议会预算委员会的批准。周三，议员们批准了总共14项此类投资计划。

第五批台风战斗机将配备性能更强大的EScan雷达。军方表示，这些新型战机对于电子战至关重要，将取代柏林老旧的“旋风”战斗机机队。周三获批的另一项提案涉及进一步升级台风战斗机机队，提升其电子战能力，特别是压制敌方防空系统的能力，总投资11.3亿欧元，计划于2033年完成。

最新一批欧洲战斗机的采购将由军方常规预算提供资金，而不是由上届政府在俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰后立即设立的 1000 亿欧元特别基金提供资金。

其他几个新近获批的项目也将从专项基金中获得资金。

本周批准的额外支出计划包括：用于训练和医疗任务的新型“拳击手”装甲车、轻型空投陆地作战车辆的生产合同，以及用于过河的新型浮桥的开发。

由于今天拨款，海军也将获得新装备，包括为德国海上特种部队购置新的中程艇和采购扫雷声呐系统。

今年以来，德国预算委员会已批准了 25 项德国军方重大采购项目，该国正在加紧重新武装，力求成为欧洲最强大的常规军队。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。