Germany is promising the Ukrainian army the next arms delivery. There are many indications that this will come at the expense of the Bundeswehr. An analysis.
Berlin – It is the next major arms delivery from Berlin for Kiev in Ukraine Warto put a stop to the Moscow regime’s illegal attack from Russia.
Weapons for Ukraine: Germany supplies more self-propelled howitzers 2000
Specifically, Germany will supply the Ukrainian military with twelve additional large self-propelled howitzers 2000. This was announced by the German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) on September 6. In the past, the Federal Republic had already provided Ukraine with 14 PzH 2000, the abbreviation for the self-propelled, armored gun-howitzer.
According to Pistorius, six of these artillery pieces are to be delivered this year, and another six next year. This time, the financial volume is 150 million euros. According to the minister, the twelve Panzerhaubitze 2000s come from industrial stocks – they will therefore not be taken from the troops. But: The new, extensive arms delivery will probably still come at the expense of the German German Armed Forces.
Weapons deliveries in the Ukraine war: Bundeswehr to receive replacements for self-propelled howitzers
Because: The German armed forces are actually supposed to receive twelve new PzH 2000s in the foreseeable future to replace the 14 units made available in spring 2022. This was decided by the traffic light coalition and the German Bundestag in May 2023 and released the necessary funds for this. In March 2023, the Budget Committee had already approved the purchase of ten Panzerhaubitzen 2000 to replace units handed over to Ukraine.
The procurement of these first ten guns alone involves a financial volume of around 184 million euros. According to a press release from the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support from March 2023, the “first four self-propelled howitzers are to be delivered to the troops in 2025. The procurement of the guns is to be completed in 2026.” Actually. But is that still feasible?
self-propelled, armoured gun-howitzer |
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall |
5 soldiers |
155 mm howitzer L/52 with 60 shells |
1 × Machine gun MG3 |
49 tons |
11.69m / 3.50m |
German arms industry: KNDS and Rheinmetall build the Panzerhaubitze 2000
The German arms manufacturers Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KNDS, Munich) and Rheinmetall (Düsseldorf), which jointly build the PzH 2000, have in the recent past repeatedly had to contend with limited production capacities and a high order situation from member states of the defence alliance NATO For example: KNDS Managing Director Ralf Ketzel had in April in the ARD-Documentary “NATO – who will protect Europe?” states remarkably openly and publicly that it takes about two years from the order to the delivery of a single Leopard 2 battle tank.
And: In the production facilities on the outskirts of Munich, only 40 to 50 tanks can be built per year. This is also where the PzH 2000 is assembled. At the beginning of April 2024, the Düsseldorf-based technology and armaments group Rheinmetall announced that it had been commissioned to supply core components for 22 Panzerhaubitzen 2000. To put this into context: Rheinmetall is supplying the weapon systems with the main weapon, a 155 mm L/52 howitzer, and the chassis. The first of these artillery systems are to be delivered to the Bundeswehr in the summer of 2025, it was said at the time in a press release. Press release of the Rhenish weapons manufacturer.
Weapons deliveries to Ukraine: Bundeswehr tank stocks reduced
Pistorius’s comments now at least suggest that Ukraine, which has been treacherously attacked by Vladimir Putin’s Moscow regime, will have priority for deliveries of the PzH 2000. After all, the Ukrainian army needs the heavy weapon every day for the battles with the Russians between Kharkiv, Donbass and Zaporizhia. But that’s not all: According to the Federal Ministry of Defense, a total of 18 newly manufactured and modern Leopard 2 A8 battle tanks are to be handed over to the German army between 2025 and 2026. And (also) as a replacement for Leopard 2 A6s delivered to the Ukrainians from Bundeswehr stocks. KNDS also has orders for new “Leos” from the armed forces of NATO partners Hungary and Norway.
Rheinmetall also supplies the main weapon for the “Leopards”, a smoothbore gun with a caliber of 120 millimeters. Both German defense companies are therefore very busy. This also applies to the mechanical engineering company MTU from Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, which produces both the massive diesel engines for the “Leos” and for the PzH 2000. According to the magazine for European Security & Technology (esut) Before the Ukraine war in 2021, the German army had a total of 108 Panzerhaubitzen 2000 in service. 14 of them have since been sent to Ukraine, which, according to the open source intelligence website Oryx has now (as of September 12th) lost a PzH 2000. Will the Bundeswehr now be further decimated because supplies are taking too long? (pm)
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