Study: German Defence Industry Can't Meet Bundeswehr Demand

Model calculation presented Study: German Defence Industry cannot meet Bundeswehr Demand

2026-04-09 Source: Detlev Karg AFP 1 min Reading Time

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According to the international strategy consultancy Strategy&, a subsidiary of PwC, German defence companies will not be able to meet demand from the Bundeswehr for the foreseeable future. The German armed forces will therefore remain dependent on weapons imports for a long time to come, Der Spiegel reported on Thursday, citing a model calculation by Strategy&.

Will successors be ready quickly? Plans are also under way for a future replacement for the Leopard tank.(Photo: Bundeswehr) — Will successors be ready quickly? Plans are also under way for a future replacement for the Leopard tank.
(Photo: Bundeswehr)

According to the report, by 2035 there could be a gap of up to €117 billion between procurement demand and the value of defence equipment produced by German companies. In its calculations, the consultancy assumes, Der Spiegel reported, that Germany will increase defence spending as planned to between 3.5 and 5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2035. The model also takes into account that part of the budget will be spent on personnel and maintenance. At the same time, the consultants assumed that German defence firms would grow by up to 17 per cent a year and would continue to export part of their production.

Between best and worst scenario

In the best-case scenario for the industry, and assuming the lowest level of demand, the gap would still amount to €22 billion. In the worst case, it could be more than five times as large. According to the study, the industry would have to grow at annual rates of up to 28 per cent to close it.

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