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It is a new low, even for the already crisis-ridden German Bundeswehr: on Friday it was announced that Russia would eavesdrop on the German air force after the head of the Russian state broadcaster, Margarita Simonjan (43), published an audio recording with this message . effect. For Germany it is a political and military disaster.
The wiretapping scandal joins the long list of bankruptcies and accidents that have devastated the Bundeswehr’s reputation in recent years. Blick shows which of these particularly made the headlines.
Bull wiretapping scandal
The latest misstep by the Bundeswehr became public last Friday. In mid-February, air force chief Ingo Gerhartz (58) spoke with three other senior German officers through an apparently unsecured line. The men appear to be discussing possible deployment scenarios for Germany’s Taurus cruise missile if it were delivered to Ukraine.
Specifically, the issue was whether the cruise missile could theoretically destroy the Crimean Bridge, which is extremely important for Russia. Although Kiev has been demanding the delivery of the same military equipment for some time, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (65) is against this.
The overheard conversation, which the four officers would probably have been better off having in a secure room, is bitter for Germany in several respects. Not only does it play into Russia’s hands, especially since the Kremlin has now gained valuable insight into the Taurus, it also damages Germany’s position in NATO.
Chancellor Scholz is also in a bad situation after the conversation was published. Opposition politicians demand that Scholz explain himself to the Bundestag. “In this situation, an investigative committee cannot be ruled out,” says CSU politician Alexander Dobrindt (53).
Armored personnel carrier “Puma”
In December 2022, during an exercise for a NATO mission with 18 ‘Puma’ armored personnel carriers, all vehicles failed in one fell swoop. There was talk at the time about hardware and software problems. Particularly bitter: just a few weeks later, Germany took over the leading role in the NATO intervention force VJTF and would actually have to provide 42 armored personnel carriers for this. Instead, soldiers were equipped with the older “Marder” model.
In April 2023, the weapons company Rheinmetall announced that the Bundeswehr would have to modernize 143 of its ‘Pumas’ at a total cost of 770 million euros. The tanks should be delivered again by the end of 2023. But nothing came of it: due to software problems, they cannot be delivered until 2024.
Eurofighter fighter jet
The fleet of 138 aircraft forms the backbone of German air defense. The “Eurofighter” has long had the reputation of being an unlucky aircraft. In May 2018, Spiegel reported that of the 128 aircraft at the time, only four were operational. The reason for the malfunction was the leakage of coolant from a container containing sensors. The repair was delayed and was difficult because one of the spare parts suppliers had now been sold.
The next setback occurred in July 2022: the Bundeswehr had to stop all practice and training flights with the machine due to a problem with the ejection seats.
Navy helicopter NH90
The case surrounding the purchase of the Airbus naval helicopter NH90 Sea Lion, which became public in 2015, was also characterized by confusion. The then Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen (65) wanted to order 18 pieces. Costs: 1.4 billion euros. Shortly afterwards, an internal report from the Bundeswehr Aviation Office found serious shortcomings.
“For example, operation above areas with difficult environmental conditions is not permitted.” This meant that the helicopter would not be able to perform its actual main task, namely operations over the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
Shortly afterwards, the Ministry of Defense contradicted the statements in the report. Yet the NH90 suffered from breakdown after breakdown after delivery in 2019. First it made a name for itself due to engine problems, and shortly afterwards the fire suppression system failed.
G36 assault rifle
The Bundeswehr is also currently not doing a good job when it comes to purchasing the successor model of the G36 assault rifle. This was finally discredited in 2015 when von der Leyen had to publicly admit problems with the rifle’s accuracy.
A report commissioned by the Ministry of Defense recently showed that when soldiers fire for a prolonged period, the barrel heats up to such an extent that the weapon no longer hits properly. This effect was also observed in warmer regions.
The new G95 model was then announced with much fanfare. But here too the first inconsistencies become noticeable. As Spiegel reported at the end of January, the Bundeswehr’s purchasing office is said to have deliberately lowered the accuracy requirements for the new assault rifle so that the weapon can be introduced more quickly.
“Euro Hawk” project
In the ranking of the largest bankruptcies in the Bundeswehr, the “Euro-Hawk” project definitely takes first place. Hundreds of millions of euros of taxpayers’ money have been wasted on the much-praised super drone. “A milestone in aerial reconnaissance,” the air force cheered on its website at the time.
In 2011, the US-made superdrone moved to Germany. However, she had to make long detours to do this, especially because the drone only had provisional approval for European airspace at the time.
The flight turned out to be a nightmare. The satellite connection between the ground station and the pilot was lost twice. The latter sat in front of a black screen for several minutes. The public remained in the dark about this for a long time.
Above all, the insufficiently verifiable collision protection ultimately broke the neck of the drone project. The Ministry of Defense was forced to pull the plug. The drone has now found a place in the Air Force Museum in Berlin-Gatow.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
