Germany boosts defense industry with new strategic overhaul
Germany unveils a new strategy for its security and defense industry, aiming to strengthen the sector and prepare it for future challenges. Key areas of focus include information and communication technologies, artificial intelligence, ammunition, naval shipbuilding, tanks, and aviation systems.
The German government is determined to reinforce its defense industry in response to the challenges posed by the conflict in Ukraine. The newly adopted security and defense industry strategy, introduced on Wednesday, replaces the previous document from 2020.
The updated strategic document, as highlighted by the "Zeit" magazine's website, asserts that Germany must become "defense-ready" swiftly.
According to the strategy, Germany should increase investments in cybersecurity and other security-related technologies, while also focusing on recruiting more specialists in pivotal technological fields.
Companies based in Germany will be central to this initiative, notably those that "generate a significant portion of their revenue from the security and defense industry." Emphasized areas include information and communication technologies, artificial intelligence, ammunition, naval shipbuilding, tanks, and aviation systems.
More joint projects
It's also emphasized that the German government should pursue more collaborative European defense projects and procurement.
The adopted strategy is seen as opening "a new chapter in the state's relations with the industry, in the spirit of Zeitenwende (a shift in German security policy announced by Scholz in February 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine - PAP)," according to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius during the presentation of the document.
