Germany wants to supply Poland with a defense system
Federal Defense Minister Lambrecht wants to support Poland with anti-aircraft systems and combat aircraft after the missile hit the border region with Ukraine.
The Bundeswehr itself should be faster in procurement.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) wants to help Poland with a Patriot defense system. The reason is the rocket attack that killed two people near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday. “We offered Poland support in securing its airspace – with our Eurofighters and with Patriot air defense systems,” the minister told the Düsseldorf newspaper “Rheinische Post” and the Bonn “General-Anzeiger”.
Germany is already supporting Slovakia with the combat aircraft and the air defense system. This presence should be extended until the end of 2023, “possibly even beyond that”.
On November 15, a rocket fell in the Polish village of Przewodow, just six kilometers from the border with Ukraine. Two civilians died. Currently, the West assumes that it was a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile used to defend against attacks by the Russian military.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has so far maintained the claim that it was a Russian missile. But he said he wasn’t 100% sure what happened.
Lambrecht said that as a consequence of this event, the alliance had to position itself even better in terms of air defense. This applies in particular to NATO partners such as Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic States, which border directly on Russia and Ukraine.
Bundeswehr wants to be faster in procurement
In the same interview, the Defense Minister said that the Bundeswehr is now using exceptions in European public procurement law to obtain material more quickly. “We need to get faster with sourcing. Order more of what’s available on the market and tried and tested by our partners, and not spend years developing our own gold-rimmed solutions.”
In addition, orders under a value of 5000 euros could now be awarded without a time-consuming tender. That affects 20 percent of all orders from the procurement office of the Bundeswehr in Koblenz. “The 100 billion euros alone will not do the trick,” said the minister.
As a reaction to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Bundestag and Bundesrat decided on a special program worth 100 billion euros to equip an operational Bundeswehr. The money is to be used to purchase new aircraft, helicopters, ships, tanks and ammunition in the coming years.
