Germany to spend almost $60 billion in latest military funding package

BERLIN — Germany’s parliamentary budget committee approved 30 major defense procurement projects worth nearly €50 billion ($59 billion) on Wednesday, bringing the country’s 2025 total to a record 103 major procurement projects for €83 billion ($97.5 billion).​

The approvals cap three years of unprecedented defense spending that outpace the previous eight years combined.​

“We are serious when we say that we are equipping our Bundeswehr to be powerful and resilient, and doing so as quickly as possible,” said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in remarks following the committee meeting. “All of this shows impressively that we are pulling together.”

Among the most significant projects approved is the SPOCK tactical radar satellite system, a key procurement designed to strengthen the Bundeswehr’s reconnaissance capabilities. The system, developed through a joint venture between Rheinmetall and Finnish specialist Iceye, will provide the military’s new 45th Armored Brigade in Lithuania with all-weather, day-and-night radar imagery analyzed through artificial intelligence to detect hostile military activity.​​

In a press release, the Bundeswehr called it a “key project to strengthen the military reconnaissance capabilities of the German Armed Forces.”

The contract is valued at approximately €1.76 billion, with options that could bring the total above €2.7 billion through 2030, according to German media reports.​

The committee also approved additional procurement for the Puma infantry fighting vehicle, Germany’s main armored personnel carrier for mechanized infantry, including increased unit numbers, multi-purpose ammunition for engaging ground and air targets, provisions for future modernization, and combat training simulators.​

Other major approvals include modernization and expansion of the Patriot air defense system, with increased missile stocks and conversion kits for launch systems, as well as transport vehicles, trailers, and trucks. The committee greenlit procurement of protected medical vehicles and reconnaissance, combat and support vehicles, including artillery and mortar systems and the protected EAGLE command vehicles.​

Munitions featured prominently in the session, with approvals for additional IRIS-T SLM surface-to-air missiles, serial production preparation for the TAURUS NEO modular standoff weapon for Eurofighter jets, Meteor air-to-air missiles, and torpedoes for the new U 212 CD submarine class.​

Germany is also buying additional launchers and missiles for its Israeli-made Arrow exoatmospheric interceptor system.

The approvals come despite Germany operating under provisional budget rules, a testament to streamlined procurement processes introduced in recent years, Pistorius said.​

Between 2023 and 2025, Germany approved 255 major procurement projects worth €188.4 billion, compared to 215 projects totaling €109 billion between 2015 and 2022. The rapid pace of procurements is a direct consequence of Berlin’s hasty pursuit of rearmament since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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——德国议会预算委员会周三批准了30项重大国防采购项目，总价值近500亿欧元（590亿美元），使该国2025年的重大采购项目总数达到创纪录的103个，总价值达830亿欧元（975亿美元）。

这些批准标志着过去三年史无前例的国防开支达到顶峰，其增速超过了此前八年的总和。

德国国防部长鲍里斯·皮斯托里乌斯在委员会会议后发表讲话时表示：“我们郑重承诺，我们将尽快为德国联邦国防军配备强大而坚韧的装备。所有这些都令人印象深刻地表明，我们正在齐心协力。”

在获批的众多项目中，SPOCK战术雷达卫星系统尤为重要，这是一项旨在加强德国联邦国防军侦察能力的关键采购项目。该系统由莱茵金属公司和芬兰专业公司Iceye合资开发，将为驻立陶宛的德国联邦国防军新组建的第45装甲旅提供全天候、昼夜雷达图像，并通过人工智能分析这些图像，以探测敌方军事活动。

德国联邦国防军在一份新闻稿中称其为“加强德国武装部队军事侦察能力的关键项目”。

据德国媒体报道，该合同价值约17.6亿欧元，并包含一些选项，到2030年总价值可能超过27亿欧元。

委员会还批准了增加“美洲狮”步兵战车（德国主要的机械化步兵装甲运兵车）的采购，包括增加部队数量、采购用于打击地面和空中目标的多用途弹药、预留未来现代化升级的空间以及采购作战训练模拟器。

其他主要批准事项包括爱国者防空系统的现代化和扩建，增加导弹库存和发射系统改装套件，以及运输车辆、拖车和卡车。委员会批准采购防护型医疗车辆和侦察、作战及支援车辆，包括火炮和迫击炮系统以及防护型“鹰”指挥车。

军需品是本次会议的重点议题，包括批准增购IRIS-T SLM地对空导弹、为欧洲战斗机配备的TAURUS NEO模块化防区外武器进行批量生产准备、Meteor空对空导弹以及为新型U 212 CD级潜艇提供的鱼雷。

德国还在为其以色列制造的“箭”式大气层外拦截系统购买额外的发射器和导弹。

皮斯托瑞斯表示，尽管德国目前实行临时预算规则，但这些审批仍然获得通过，这证明了近年来引入的精简采购流程取得了成效。

2023年至2025年间，德国批准了255个大型采购项目，总价值达1884亿欧元；相比之下，2015年至2022年间，德国批准了215个项目，总价值达1090亿欧元。采购速度的加快，是自2022年俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰以来，柏林仓促寻求重新武装的直接结果。

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。