More kit, better barracks: Germany's military in need of overhaul

It comes as US President Donald Trump's increasingly hostile stance towards traditional European allies has shaken faith in US commitment to the continent's security.

Here's what Germany's armed forces — the Bundeswehr — are thought to need, and how they might get it:
— What is the state of the Bundeswehr? -

Germany cashed in a so-called «peace dividend» after the Cold War. Like other Western countries, it reduced the size of its armed forces and directed more spending to areas like welfare.

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This however left it heavily dependent on the protection of the United States under the NATO security umbrella, and it took the shock of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 for the situation to begin changing.
Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a 100-billion-euro ($109-billion) fund to boost the under-resourced military, and there is now sufficient supply of basic equipment such as helmets and bullet-proof jackets.

But over 80 percent of that money has now been spent, and Eva Hoegl, the parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, told reporters on Tuesday that the military still has «too little of everything».

The German military is still lacking equipment such as tanks, armoured vehicles and ammunition.

Basic infrastructure is often not up to scratch, with Hoegl saying barracks are «largely dilapidated,» and recruitment targets are not being met.

— Do they have the right tech? -

Apart from armour and munitions, the Bundeswehr needs technology such as satellites and air defence systems as well as capabilities that integrate artificial intelligence.

«The Ukrainian battlefield showed how a tank worth 25 million euros can be destroyed by a drone costing 5,000 euros,» head of the IfW Kiel