Bundeswehr plans: Army should get three full divisions
In the next 15 years, the German Armed Forces appear to face fundamental changes in their tasks and equipment. This emerges from the "Preliminary Conceptual Requirements for the Future Capability Profile of the German Armed Forces", which originate from the Planning Department of the Ministry of Defense and about which the "FAZ" reports. DBwV, the paper is also available.
According to this, a radical departure from the current orientation of the Bundeswehr to foreign missions is expected to occur by 2032. The tasks should again focus on national and alliance defense. The responsible department head in the Ministry, Lieutenant General Erhard Bühler, speaks of a "departure from the guidelines of the reorientation of 2011".
New concept is based on the white paper
Specifically, the plans mean that the German Armed Forces in the army, air force and navy must grow up vigorously to meet the new requirements. According to the paper, these should be the complete defense capability on land, water, in the air, in space and in cyberspace.
Erhard Bühler refers to the white paper passed last year, in which national defense plays a major role again. "The scale had to change fundamentally," says the planning chief, who speaks to the "FAZ" of a "significant need for change in the Bundeswehr in all possible temporal and content facets". The first specifications have already been made in the "Competence Profile 2017", which has already been signed by Buhler. According to the ministry, the concept should be adopted in the summer.
A step-by-step approach is planned.
By the end of 2023, ongoing mandated missions are to be ensured and additional responsibility will be assumed between 2019 and 2023. Germany acts as a framework nation for the Very High Readiness Joint Task Forde with a system group brigade and participation of forces from the air, sea and special equipment.
In the second step, until 2027, the first step towards the comprehensive capability for alliance and national defense should take place, for which purpose the task-oriented equipment for the first system alliances should be achieved.
The third step is to be completed by the achievement of the task-oriented equipment for all active and partly / non-active units by 2031.
After 2032, the Bundeswehr should then be able to perform all other tasks on the basis of mission packages on an equal footing.
In general, simultaneity is one of the most important design parameters. The planning differentiates between three cases of national or Alliance defense:
1. Parallel to alliance measures below the threshold for an alliance, all tasks (including other tasks that have to be performed on a permanent basis) are to be exercised equally.
2. National crisis preparedness is also to be ensured in parallel to collective alliance defense.
3. However, in the case of a national defense mission, all other orders can be canceled.
What exactly should change for army, air force and navy, shows our overview.
Army
The existing structure of the army will be completely rebuilt. In the future, three fully equipped divisions with eight to ten brigades will be available, which should be fully operational within three months. This expansion - currently has the army of seven brigades and shares in the German-French Brigade - requires additional units, especially in the field of artillery battalions. These are either newly formed or made through cooperation with other NATO countries.
The first division should be fully operational by 2026 according to the plans. In this case, 20,000 soldiers could be sent into battle in three armored brigades. By the end of 2031, the other two divisions are also expected to have an artillery battalion each. The staff for this growth should also be done through the increased involvement of reservists.
Also the material equipment will change massively, even if the complete consequences for the planning are not yet foreseeable.
Accordingly, the new transport tank Boxer is in the center of the new demand. 200 units are already available to the army, 130 others are already approved. But that's not enough, internal calculations assume that the triple amount is needed - at least. Higher quantities of the new armored infantry vehicle Puma and German-French cooperation in the field of artillery systems are also under discussion.
Air force
Over the next 15 years, the air force will be enabled to lead a multinational association. Up to 350 reconnaissance and combat missions are to be flown per day - three-quarters of that was spent on the Bundeswehr. The conception is designed in such a way that the air forces must be able to maintain the air rule over Germany and to establish the superiority over a field of operation together with allies.
For this purpose, the Luftwaffe should also be better equipped. It is planned to replace the tornadoes and the transport helicopter CH-53. In addition, drones, transporter type C-130 Hercules, other A400M and - brand new - heavy transport helicopters will be procured. The latter has never been available to the Bundeswehr. The goal of the measures: The air force should take over already from 2021 the protection of land forces from the air.
Navy
At sea, at least 15 ships and boats will be ready for use at the same time. For this, the capability profile would have to be replaced by six supply tenders (Elbe-class), four frigates and the mine defense units in the coming years. The federal government is also said to have already approved the purchase of two additional supply and command ships.
Also for the navy are significantly changed tasks. Among other things, it is to be put back in a position to lead naval wars out of the air. That's not her anymore since she had to drop her fighter bombers over ten years ago. With which measures exactly this goal is to be achieved, is still open.
