Germany's Military Power in Europe: A Comparative Analysis

Germany's military power is often a subject of debate within Europe, especially when compared to other major powers like France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. The history and current state of Germany's armed forces offer insights into its evolving military capabilities.

Germany's Military Transition Post-Reunification

Following the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990, the former East Germany's military, known as the National People's Army (NVA), was completely disbanded. The West German army, the Bundeswehr, underwent significant reforms leading to a dramatic reduction in its personnel. This move was widely applauded by European allies, reflecting the positive stance on reducing military expenditure.

Comparative Analysis with Key European Countries

Italy

Italy is often ranked alongside the UK and France, despite lacking an independent nuclear strike force. However, the real-world performance of the Italian military shouldn't be underestimated. Italy has demonstrated strong, reliable, and quick-to-deploy capabilities, particularly in police actions around the world. Despite these strengths, bureaucratic red-tape and slow decision-making processes can become problematic during wartime.

Germany's Current Military Alignment

Today, Germany is not as militarily powerful as the UK or France. Its current military strength is more comparable to Italy and Spain. In 1990, Germany had over 500,000 active personnel in its armed forces, making it the largest in Europe (second only to Russia). The German military boasted a large and capable air force and navy, equipped with modern hardware. However, between 1990 and 2019, the number of troops fell by 60%, and much of the military hardware was mothballed, sold, or scrapped.

Since 2020, there has been some upgrading of decades-old equipment. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the German government pledged to inject €100 billion into the military to upgrade capabilities. This investment will be added to an existing defense budget of about €50 billion. As a result, Germany will briefly surpass the UK and France to become Europe's largest defense spender in 2024. Over the following years, Germany plans to commit at least 2% of its GDP to defense, maintaining its position among the top 10 spenders globally.

Key Military Modernization Projects

The modernization projects include:

Air Force: Orders for 38x Eurofighter/Typhoon and indigenous F-35A stealth fighters, 11x Airbus A400M transport aircraft, 3x C-130J Hercules tanker aircraft, 3x Global Express SIGINT aircraft, and 4x Patriot SAM systems. Naval Forces: New 31x NH90 Sea Tiger helicopters, 8x Sea Falcon drones, 2x Type 212 submarines, 5x Braunschweig Class missile corvettes, 3x Type 424 electronic surveillance ships, and 2x Class 707 fleet tankers. Army: 81x GTK Boxter armored personnel carriers, 8 Eagle V armored ambulances, 12x PhZ 2000 AT SP howitzers, 7x armored vehicle bridges, MBDA Enforcer anti-tank missiles, new HK 437 and HK 416A8 assault rifles, new automatic pistols, thousands of military trucks, and upgrades of existing equipment.

The €100 billion fund will support further modernization:

Air Force: 35x F-35A stealth fighters, 6 Chinook transport helicopters, 5x Heron TP drones, 3x Arrow-3 SAM systems, 8x Iris-T SAM systems, 100 Patriot SAM missiles, and upgrades to airbase infrastructure. Naval Forces: Orders for 8x Poseidon P-8A anti-submarine aircraft. Army: 82x Airbus H145M helicopters, 17x Leopard-2 A7 A1 tanks, 18x Leopard-2A6 tanks, 5 Puma infantry fighting vehicles, 5 Dingo MRAPs, 5x PULS multiple rocket artillery launchers, 18x Skyranger 30 short-range air defense systems, PARM 2 anti-tank mines, new PPE equipment, new night vision equipment, and new digital communication equipment.

Due to the high costs of modernizing its military, Germany might not return to the same military power it had in 1990. However, the increased spending means a substantial improvement in military capabilities.