Germany approves funds to develop supersonic weapon, buy thousands of missiles

BERLIN — Germany’s parliament has authorized money for the purchase of thousands of missiles and the development of a supersonic naval cruise missile, according to a Defence Ministry news release.

Germany will join forces with Norway in developing the supersonic Tyrfing missile. A key parliamentary committee released the funds Wednesday for Berlin’s first foray into developing modern naval missiles. Currently, most of the country’s naval missile arsenal is French- or American-made.

Although Norway and its state-owned arms manufacturer Kongsberg will take a leading role, the German government expects to contribute about €650 million (U.S. $695 million) to the project between now and 2033.

A new missile for Norway and Germany will be known as 3SM Tyrfing and is scheduled to be ready in 2035. (Kongsberg)

The contract, which is to conclude by August, will see Diehl Defence and MBDA perform work on the German side.

At least initially, Germany’s half will be funded from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s special fund for the military. That money was put together in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In later years, the money is to come out of the regular defense budget.

Kongsberg describes the Tyrfing as a “new super missile” that will succeed the Naval Strike Missile developed in the early 2000s. The 3SM — an abbreviation for Super Sonic Strike Missile — should be ready in 2035, the company said in a news release late last year.

In addition to Norway and Germany, Kongsberg hopes the missile will have export potential to other “European armed forces.”

The German budgetary committee also approved the purchase of up to 3,266 Brimstone 3 rockets for delivery by 2033 under a contract expected to be passed by the parliament next month.

Initially, the country will receive 274 missiles and the requisite equipment, purchased from MBDA Germany for about €376 million. An additional 29 Brimstones will be used for operational testing and 75 further for training and telemetry.

The rockets are destined for the country’s Eurofighter fleet, which forms the fighting backbone of its Air Force. Berlin first announced its intention to procure the air-to-ground missile in 2017.

The British Royal Air Force has used the Brimstone family of missiles for nearly two decades, including in war zones in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. A contingent of German Eurofighters is also deployed in the Baltics, where they serve to strengthen NATO’s posture at its flank with Russia.

Aside from entirely new purchases, the parliamentary budget committee also approved the procurement of 506 Stinger man-portable air defense systems worth about €395 million as a replacement for 500 of the ground-to-air, shoulder-launched missiles that were sent to Ukraine.

Germany has taken a leading role in supporting Kyiv’s armament, sending more military support than any other country except the United States. According to the Germany-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the government has sent €10.2 billion in military aid to Ukraine as of the end of April 2024.

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——据德国国防部新闻稿称，德国议会已批准拨款购买数千枚导弹并研发超音速海军巡航导弹。

德国将与挪威合作研发超音速“提尔芬”（Tyrfing）导弹。周三，一个重要的议会委员会批准了这笔资金，用于柏林首次涉足现代海军导弹研发领域。目前，德国海军的大部分导弹都是法国或美国制造的。

尽管挪威及其国有武器制造商康斯伯格将发挥主导作用，但德国政府预计从现在到 2033 年将为该项目贡献约 6.5 亿欧元（6.95 亿美元）。

挪威和德国联合研制的新型导弹将被命名为3SM Tyrfing，预计将于2035年研制成功。（康斯伯格公司）

该合同将于 8 月完成，届时 Diehl Defence 和 MBDA 将代表德国方面开展工作。

至少在初期，德国的一半资金将来自总理奥拉夫·朔尔茨的军事专项基金。这笔资金是在2022年2月俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰之后立即筹集的。

以后这笔钱将从常规国防预算中支出。

康斯伯格公司将“提尔芬”导弹描述为一种“新型超级导弹”，它将取代2000年代初开发的海军打击导弹。该公司在去年底的一份新闻稿中表示，这款名为3SM（超音速打击导弹的缩写）的导弹预计将于2035年准备就绪。

除了挪威和德国，康斯伯格希望这款导弹还能出口到其他“欧洲武装部队”。

德国预算委员会还批准购买多达 3266 枚“硫磺石 3”火箭，预计将于 2033 年前交付，相关合同预计将于下个月由议会通过。

该国初期将接收274枚导弹及相关配套设备，这些导弹是从德国MBDA公司采购的，总价约为3.76亿欧元。另有29枚“硫磺石”导弹将用于作战测试，75枚将用于训练和遥测。

这些火箭将装备德国空军的台风战斗机机队，该机队是德国空军的作战主力。柏林于2017年首次宣布有意采购这种空对地导弹。

英国皇家空军使用“硫磺石”系列导弹已有近二十年，包括在阿富汗、伊拉克和叙利亚等战区。一支德国“台风”战斗机分遣队也部署在波罗的海地区，旨在加强北约在俄罗斯一侧的侧翼防御。

除了全新的采购之外，议会预算委员会还批准采购价值约 3.95 亿欧元的 506 套“毒刺”便携式防空系统，以取代向乌克兰交付的 500 枚地对空肩扛式导弹。

德国在支持基辅军备方面发挥了主导作用，其提供的军事援助仅次于美国。据总部位于德国的基尔世界经济研究所统计，截至2024年4月底，德国政府已向乌克兰提供了102亿欧元的军事援助。

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。