Source: Defense News
By Sebastian Sprenger
The German government has presented an ambitious plan for beefing up the country’s armed forces over the next 10-plus years.
The strategy comes in the form of a new “capability profile,” described by Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen as a “grand, comprehensive modernization concept.” At its intermediate point, by 2024, it proposes Germany’s annual defense budget at 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, or about €60 billion (U.S. $69 billion).
That would amount to a sizable increase for a country currently hovering around a GDP of €40 billion. But it would still fall short of the NATO-wide objective of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense.
In von der Leyen’s telling, the new strategy would lift the armed forces from years of budget cutbacks and deprivation toward a set of capabilities deep enough to defend the homeland and simultaneously partake in out-of-area missions.
Read more at: https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/09/05/germany-unveils-growth-plan-for-the-bundeswehr/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=Socialflow+DFN