Germany facing serious combat capability shortage

Germany has announced they're facing serious problems with their aircraft procurement programs. The problem has reached the point that there is concern about future combat capabilities. The German Defense Minister has said that the C-160 Transal will reach the end of its service life by 2021, but there is very little chance of the A400M being in service before 2023.

Earlier this month France and Germany signed an agreement to share C-130J aircraft. France is buying four C-130Js, and Germany is looking at 4-6 of the same type, to be based in France. That will be a short time solution to the A400M problem though. The A400M is still working through the engine problems found earlier this year.

Germany is experiencing “serious problems” with its military aircraft procurement, which may soon result in an inability to maintain the proper level of combat capability, according to Bundeswehr documents obtained by media.

The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag obtained a memo, signed by German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, which states that by 2021, the operating life of the Transal (the Franco-German C-160 transport aircraft) will end.

The operational use of the new aircraft, the A400M “Atlas” (produced by Airbus) is “unlikely to be expected before 2023,” Welt am Sonntag writes, citing the document.
As a result, this can lead to “a temporary gap in the demand coverage, and possibly to restrictions in order fulfillment” by the Bundeswehr.

www.special-ops.org...

a reply to: Zaphod58

why don't they just buy some of our Surplus?? We got more planes than we can count, especially for transport. Can't they sign a contract to have them slapped together from a boneyard air frame with warehoused engines and new electronics???

Why don't we capitalize on our surplus in the bone yards and shift some mechanics to get Germany a good deal and do like a rebuild program? It would keep some people employed under a different budget when diverted from a cash strapped base or hangar.

I cannot fathom they would actually have an issue acquiring capacity.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Many of those aircraft are older and high hour airframes.

How about selling them some of the new c27's the Air Force was sending directly to the boneyard?

a reply to: worldstarcountry

originally posted by: worldstarcountry

I cannot fathom they would actually have an issue acquiring capacity.

That's because the issue isn't really capacity.
The overall narrative here is fostering support / broader acceptance for reboring a EU-based armaments industry.

a reply to: ColCurious

Ahh yea, that could very well be a factor, or the factor.

This sadly is the very tipping point of tippyness.

You can put direct to bin and half of all of Europes airforces. Between the age of the frames, lack of weps and other things.

Sort of makes you pleased we "currently" have no one to fight.

RAB

a reply to: worldstarcountry

The problem isn't lack of capacity, it's funding. They've allocated their budget to the A400M and other aircraft already, and now are having to scramble to make up for the problems it's having.

The strategic and tactical situation in Germany requires the elimination of Leopard 2 tanks from its armed forces and the establishment of anti-terrorist mechanized brigades based on advanced technologies that fit on the single soldier. So advanced armor, weapons and communications systems for usage in urban combat situation. Leopard is not viable in modern upcoming euro-wide guerilla and terrorism. Leopard would get bogged down within minutes from entering urban areas. Single man vehicles and/or powered armor exoskeleton systems can do much better in such situations, at a much cheaper price.

If the EU and Germany think that Leopard could be used to go east, they are heavily wrong. They'll get all eliminated before reaching the Ukrainian border or Belarusian border, causing mayhem and chaos in Poland engulfing the country into total civil war.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Zaphod,

While that may be part of the problem, it's also undeniable that they've made some exceptionally poor choices all throughout their air fleet. They've bought lemon after lemon, and now lack the funding to dig themselves out of the hole they're in without compromising their ability to continue current operations.

Like other posters have pointed out, it's a damn good thing that we currently lack any serious enemy to fight.