Soldiers stand in line at a training site as they undergo maintenance training on Leopard 1 A5 tanks, at the German army Bundeswehr base, part of the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM UA) in Klietz, Germany, February 23, 2024. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany plans to allocate nearly 19 billion euros ($22.16 billion) to kit out soldiers with new clothes and personal equipment in the coming years, in addition to 7.5 billion for new wheeled armoured vehicles, said a finance ministry document.
The government justifies the troop apparel project known as FASER - with expenditures spread out until 2034 - with its ambitious recruitment goal of 460,000 soldiers by the mid-2030s, from the around 280,000 who now make up the Bundeswehr.
According to the ministry's budget documents seen by Reuters on Tuesday, Germany will also authorise some 7.5 billion euros through 2037 for the procurement of new wheeled armoured vehicles.
That will likely involve the purchase of between 3,000 and 5,000 Boxer vehicles manufactured jointly between Germany's Rheinmetall and Franco-German defence company KNDS, according to parliamentary sources.
Germany has been on a defence buying spree after Chancellor Friedrich Merz secured the backing needed to exempt such spending from debt limits and build up its underequipped army in a bid to take greater responsibility for European security.
Germany's 2026 total defence spending, including special funds, is planned to reach about 117.2 billion euros, reaching a NATO quota of around 2.8% of gross domestic project (GDP).
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Markus Wacket, writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Thomas Seythal)
