German army saddled with equipment delivery delays

Germany's Defence Ministry on Friday confirmed holdups in the delivery of equipment sets to soldiers, raising doubts about the preparedness of the country's military missions overseas.

There were "regrettable" delays in "individual cases for some items," a ministry spokesman said in Berlin following a report in Bild newspaper, citing an official letter to the parliamentary Budget Committee.

However, contractors were expected to fulfil their obligations to the Bundeswehr armed forces by the end of the agreed delivery period in late 2025, he added.

Among the shortfalls, Bild reported that only 58,850 sets of combat clothing had been delivered in 2023, compared with 72,200 sets agreed.

An order for 82,596 combat helmets was short of almost 20,000 units, and other orders for rucksacks and protective waistcoats and underwear also fell far short of completion.

There were also delays with image intensifier goggles because a delivery originally intended for the Bundeswehr had gone to the Israeli army. As a result, only 8,550 of the expected 10,850 sets had arrived.

Reasons given by the ministry for the delays included the bankruptcy of one contracted company and some still unrectified production losses during the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the condition of the armed forces had improved significantly in the past few years with an injection of €2.4 billion ($2.6 billion) for equipment, according to the spokesman.

Asked whether the delays could affect planned or ongoing German deployments abroad, the spokesman said the aim is for every soldier to be able to train at their home base with all equipment they are supposed to have on deployment.

This may not be possible in individual cases due to the delays, he conceded, but it should still be possible to fulfil the actual deployment requirements.