The plan includes three phases that are to be completed by 2039.
Germany is preparing its army for the war of the future - but will it have enough time? The Federal Republic of Germany has developed its own military strategy. At its core is the Russian Federation as a security threat to Europe. Of the approximately 100 pages of the document, only 31 are public, while the rest are classified. But the overall message of the document is clear: the country's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to transform the Bundeswehr into the strongest conventional army in Europe. However, anyone familiar with the current state of the German army knows how ambitious this sounds, writes Dirk Emmerich in his column for Deutsche Welle.
"The plan includes three phases that are to be completed by 2039. In the first phase, existing Bundeswehr brigades must be fully equipped with sufficient ammunition and spare parts. The second phase aims to enable the deployment of an entire division within 30 days by 2029. Only in the third phase, by 2039, is the Bundeswehr expected to be fully combat-ready - as a modern army with a flexible structure and all capabilities for utilizing artificial intelligence," Emmerich explains.
However, the columnist points out that the question of whether it will be possible to increase troop numbers from the current 185,000 to 460,000 servicemen, including reservists, remains completely open.
"There is still a long way to go before 2039. How does this relate to Pistorius's and the Federal Intelligence Service's assessment that Russia may be capable of attacking the West as early as 2029? There is a 10-year gap between Russia's offensive capabilities and Germany's full readiness for defense. And this is a race against time, in which Germany will remain highly dependent on support from the United States," he notes.
