Germany plans largest arms orders in decades to build strongest European army

Germany is preparing multi-billion-euro defence purchases including jets and thousands of armoured vehicles, aiming to create Europe’s most powerful army amid concerns over U.S. reliability.

Germany is set to place some of its largest military orders since the Cold War, with plans to procure 20 Eurofighter jets, up to 3,000 Boxer armoured vehicles, and around 3,500 Patria infantry fighting vehicles, according to sources.

The move is part of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s broader push to strengthen German military capabilities and reduce dependence on the United States for European security.

The planned purchases form a key pillar of Merz's defence overhaul, following his success in gaining parliamentary approval to exempt military spending from the country's strict constitutional debt ceiling.

Germany's regular defence budget is projected to rise to €83 billion ($95.8 billion) by 2026, a €20 billion increase from the previous year.

The Eurofighter order alone is estimated at between €4 billion and €5 billion. The Boxer armoured vehicles, jointly produced by KNDS and Rheinmetall, are expected to cost around €10 billion, while the Patria fighting vehicles could total approximately €7 billion euro.

Delivery of the Boxer and Patria platforms is expected to unfold over the next decade.

Germany also plans to expand its air defence capabilities with more IRIS-T systems and several hundred SkyRanger drone defence units, though pricing for those systems has not yet been finalised.

The German Defence Ministry has yet to comment on the procurement plans, parts of which were also reported by Bloomberg, although with slightly different figures.

Chancellor Merz has committed to meeting NATO’s new target of 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2029 — a level that few other alliance members have pledged to match. He has made clear that this is necessary for Germany to shoulder greater security responsibilities in Europe.

Germany’s military build-up comes amid persistent criticism of the Bundeswehr’s readiness. Hours after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the then-head of the German army admitted the country’s forces were severely under-equipped, saying the Bundeswehr was "standing there more or less empty-handed."

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