Germany plans to build four new submarines in a plan to strengthen its defense capacity
AFP news agency reported on December 19 that the German army will receive new defense equipment worth 20 billion euros (528,450 billion VND), including 4 submarines, according to a plan just approved by the National Assembly Budget Committee.
The new weapons and equipment will be ordered at a time when Europe’s largest economy seeks to strengthen its armed forces, amid NATO tensions with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius welcomed the above decision, which includes giving the green light to 38 large projects, with a total budget “the highest number ever”. He said among them was a new corvette.
The committee also approved the purchase of Patriot missile defense systems and rocket artillery, as well as funding for cybersecurity.
Russia must be ready to fight NATO for the next decade
In addition, Mr. Pistorius said that among the approved funds, there are also “long-term projects” such as purchasing submarines built by Thyssenkrupp Group, expected to take 7-8 years to complete.
According to the German Ministry of Defense, the current security situation clearly shows the need for Germany and NATO to demonstrate “effective deterrence”.
Germany has sharply reduced defense spending since the end of the Cold War. However, after political pressure from Washington, Berlin increased again NATO’s target of spending 2% of GDP on the defense budget.
In another development, Germany’s Ministry of Economy said on December 18 that the country’s exports of weapons and other defense items reached a new record of 13.2 billion euros this year.
Nearly two-thirds of that, or 8.1 billion euros, went to Ukraine, much of it funded by Germany. Next is Singapore with 1.2 billion euros, and countries such as Algeria, the US, Türkiye and India.
