On July 5, the Federal Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance submitted nine 25-million-euro proposals for the procurement of ammunition to the responsible committees for decision. The budget committee approved the projects with a total financial requirement of 783.3 million euros up to 2026.
The ammunition is intended for the PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer, the Puma infantry fighting vehicle, the Leopard 2 main battle tank and small arms. Procurement is mainly (58 percent) from Section 60, i.e. intended for Ukraine or to replace the ammunition delivered to Ukraine. Ammunition worth 203.1 million euros is earmarked for Ukraine.
artillery
155mm artillery ammunition with accessories (complete shot) and additional proximity fuses are procured from several framework contracts for 322.2 million euros. The Bundeswehr is to receive almost 50,000 rounds by 2026, and the Ukraine almost 25,000 rounds by 2025. Rheinmetall Waffen Munition (RWM) and ARGE DiNa155mm GbR – with Diehl and Nammo – have been commissioned as contractors, and they in turn involve numerous national and international (e.g. from Spain and South Africa) subcontractors. The framework agreements allow for orders of up to 333,333 shots and, in addition to the Federal Republic of Germany, also include the Ukraine and other countries as orderers.
armored troops
381.1 million euros are earmarked for 120mm tank ammunition for the Leopard 2's on-board cannon, almost a third of which is for Ukraine. By 2025, the Bundeswehr will receive over 40,000 shots of the types DM11 (multi-purpose) and DM73/DM63A1 (KE) as well as the corresponding practice ammunition. Ukraine will receive 16,500 rounds of combat ammunition KE and multipurpose. In addition, the maximum amounts for the Bundeswehr for combat ammunition were extended to 120,800 to 142,500 and for the Ukraine to 44,000 for the individual types of ammunition in the framework agreements.
RWM is to supply more than 70,000 shots of the tempable 30mmx173 DM21 ammunition for the Puma infantry fighting vehicle before the end of this year. The full-caliber multi-purpose ammunition KETF (Kinetic Energy Time Fuzed) disintegrates at the target after the programmed flight time. The planned financial volume is 67.6 million euros.
infantry/all troops
Last but not least, the procurement of ammunition for handguns was on the agenda. In the framework agreement with Metallwerk Elisenhütte GmbH, a total delivery quantity of 135 million rounds of 7.62mm x 51 maneuver ammunition has been agreed, as required for combat training with rifles and machine guns. The value of the supplies is estimated at 131.4 million euros. For the current year, 16 million shots worth 15.6 million euros are to be called up immediately. The annual forecast is 32 million rounds. Annual forecasts of between 5.4 and 20 million rounds have been set for the following years up to 2029.
classification
A procurement volume of 783.3 million euros is not much if the requirement is estimated at 30 billion euros. The ammunition depots are empty, on the one hand because of insufficient replacement purchases in recent years and on the other hand because of the taxes paid to the Ukraine. In the case of 155mm high-explosive projectiles alone, the BMVg specifies a stock of 20,000 pieces with a requirement of 230,000.
The BMVg must replenish the so-called 30-day supply. This is the logistical supply that should be sufficient to survive in intense combat. The war in Ukraine shows how high the consumption of these bulk consumables can be in real battles.
"Big purchases of ammunition are cancelled," headlined MdB Ingo Gädechens, rapporteur on defense in the budget committee, in his comment. “Almost a year and a half after the outbreak of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the German Ministry of Defense finally came up with the idea of ordering ammunition. All other nations have been doing this for a long time, and Germany would finally be ready too. Unfortunately, the big announcements are only followed by contracts with small volumes. Once again, there is simply not enough money to shop properly. Unfortunately, there was once again no major purchase for the Bundeswehr or a trend reversal in ammunition.” Everyone knows it takes a lot more. The federal government simply refuses - contrary to all promises made by the federal chancellor - to provide even the slightest amount of money for the Bundeswehr. This is once again evident in the ammunition.”
In the draft of the 2024 economic plan for the special fund, the federal government has set aside 3.1 billion euros for the procurement of ammunition next year. Commitment appropriations of a further 2.1 billion euros are planned for the following years. This, too, is only an insufficient introduction to the replenishment of ammunition stocks.
Gerhard Heiming
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