08.12.2023, Berlin.
The Federal Court of Audit criticized “wrong priorities” in procuring new weapons by the German Federal Ministry of Defense, Wirtschafts Woche magazine wrote on December 7.
Against the backdrop of the budget crisis, the Federal Court of Audit said the Bundeswehr is spending money on weapons that the army will not use in the near future.
“Since 2014, the Bundeswehr has been buying machine guns, most of which it will not be able to use for their intended purpose for many years,” a corresponding letter to the federal government reads.
The Federal Court of Audit considers purchasing 19,000 new MG5 machine guns to replace the old MG3 unreasonable. Since 2014, the Bundeswehr has already ordered almost 11,000 new machine guns.
It is reported that the German Defense Ministry expects to spend €375 million on armaments. Another 100 million euros – for the necessary improvements to the respective combat vehicles.
The Federal Court of Audit considers such expenditures too high. Moreover, according to the auditing body, the armament is not fit for use, which was known in advance.
First, there are problems with the weapon racks. Secondly, there is a need to set up remote-controlled combat modules of the vehicles, with the help of which soldiers can operate machine guns from the vehicle cabin.
The army was reportedly aware of these problems before the tender was announced. According to the Federal Court of Audit, as of March 2023, 9,500 vehicles were still not adapted to the MG5.
“In addition, the Bundeswehr has not yet succeeded in implementing a training system to use the new MG5,” the Federal Court of Audit informs. The German Defense Ministry disagrees with the criticism against it and still insists on purchasing new machine guns.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
