Germany presses ahead with new military service plan for 2026

Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius says he is confident the coalition will back his new voluntary military service model in time for it to take effect next year, citing the security threat from Russia and NATO demands.

Germany is moving to revive a form of national service as Defence Minister Boris Pistorius pushes a plan to increase troop numbers and prepare the country for a more dangerous security environment. He told Reuters on Saturday that despite resistance inside the ruling camp he believes the law can be passed and applied from the start of next year, arguing that “everyone is aware of the seriousness of the situation.”

The cabinet has already approved his blueprint for a voluntary service that would help the Bundeswehr recruit more active soldiers and build up a trained reserve. The proposal still needs the backing of the Bundestag and has faced objections from some Social Democrats and from parts of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives, but Pistorius insisted the timetable remains realistic and tied it directly to Germany’s obligations inside NATO and to the threat posed by Russia.

Pistorius last month ruled out a compromise that would have introduced a conscription lottery for young men whenever voluntary recruitment fell short. He said such a system would appear arbitrary, risk alienating younger Germans and pull in recruits who were not motivated. “We must convince the younger generation with arguments instead of frustrating them,” he said, adding that the armed forces have to show why “a strong army that is a deterrent to states such as Russia” is worth supporting.

A central feature of his concept is a universal medical assessment of young men. Pistorius said this was non negotiable because in the event of an attack or a rapid mobilisation Germany must know in advance who can serve quickly in homeland defence units and who cannot, rather than spending crucial days on screening. Germany scrapped compulsory military service in 2011 and since then the Bundeswehr has struggled to stabilise personnel levels.

The minister wants to lift the size of the force from the current 180,000 to around 260,000 by the early 2030s to meet new NATO force structure targets and to make Germany’s defence more credible. That target is part of Berlin’s broader increase in defence spending after Russia’s full scale assault on Ukraine, with the government arguing that a larger pool of trained citizens is now a strategic necessity for Europe’s largest economy.

Pistorius also confirmed that Germany is accelerating work on new battlefield technology. He said the Bundeswehr is testing loitering munitions, often called “kamikaze drones,” from three companies and aims to complete the trials by the end of this year before selecting a system and sending a procurement request to parliament. The move comes after the weapons proved highly effective in the conflict in Ukraine, where both Russian and Ukrainian forces use them to hit armour, air defences and headquarters.

Some German politicians have previously been wary of these systems because they associate them with targeted killings carried out by U.S. forces in places such as Afghanistan. Pistorius argued that Germany now has to close the capability gap. He said that no contract has yet been awarded, responding to reports that start ups Helsing and Stark and defence group Rheinmetall could receive roughly 300 million euros each for such drones, and stressed that Berlin will decide only after the tests are finished.

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