Detlev Karg

The debate surrounding the procurement of rare earth elements - particularly against the backdrop of Europe’s lack of strategic sovereignty in this sector- shows no sign of abating. The hurdles for procurement remain significant, as Dr Martin Erdmann of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources explains in an interview with Aerospace & Defence.

Diesel or gasoline still dominate the propulsion systems of military vehicles. For heavy land systems such as main battle tanks, this will likely remain the case for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, manufacturers and universities are researching alternative propulsion systems for military operational scenarios. Aerospace & Defence spoke with Prof. Dieter Gerling, who conducts research and teaches in Munich, about this field.

The use of alternative fuels, or so-called e-fuels, is being discussed not only at the European level. In the defence sector, there are initiatives to produce fuels for military operations without relying on petroleum, aiming to achieve a greater degree of independence. The same trend applies to electric drives, which can be integrated into hybrid powertrains. 

Germany and its NATO partners are rearming — and are expected to do so — in line with recent NATO directives and under growing pressure from the United States. European nations, in particular, are being called upon. For years, the two-percent target — which remained non-binding until the NATO Summit in Wales in 2014 — dominated the debate. Even after Russia’s annexation of Crimea that same year, many European NATO members, including Germany, continued to fall short of the goal. Only a few, such as Poland and the Baltic states, significantly exceeded it — for understandable reasons.