Alfons Mais: “Today we are not doing much better than in February 2022”

In retrospect, Alfons Mais's appeal can be regarded on February 24, 2022, the day of the Russian Grand attack on Ukraine, as the beginning of the “turning point”. In his 41st year of service in peace, he did not believe that he had to experience a war, wrote the army inspector at the time. “And the Bundeswehr, the army that I can lead, is more or less bare.” A lot has happened since then: the 100-billion euro special assets for the Bundeswehr is practically completely bound. In addition, Germany has now relaxed the debt brake for defense spending. “Whatever IT Takes”, the next Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) was probably called.

And apparently it still takes a lot to at least make the land forces. “We are not materially doing much better today than in February 2022,” says Mais of the FAZ, the lying down by the fact that in particular in 2022 and 2023, a lot was given to Ukraine before the industry was raised. Replacement for the weapons systems cast has been reordered. “But they are not yet at the mercy,” said Mais. Last year alone, 50 25 million euro templates for the land forces were sent to the Bundestag. But until the device actually arrives, “we still have to be patient because the industry has to produce it first”. So far, the contracts and orders that have only been signed.

Of course, Mais welcomes the additional outlet, which could now come to the army. “While the special fund has served primarily to closing the gaps back, the new financial policy view enables us to devote itself more intensively to modernization, digitization and the new findings from the Ukraine war,” says Mais.

The army inspector calls three priorities: First of all, it is about improving the management of the land forces through digitization. The rich of new radio devices to modern, high -mobile battle stands to communication networks for a modern battlefield. Despite electronic trial attempts, commands and reports should be transmitted without the opponent being able to decrypt them. So far, all of this has only been done “selectively” and only planned for a division by the end of 2027, says Mais. It is now a question of expanding the previous plans quickly to all parts of the land forces.

Secondly, the “ability gap” in the drone defense is to be closed. The Ukraine decline has shown how important defense against unmanned aircraft is. But the German army is largely defenseless here. “Because in times of Afghanistan uses we have practically abandoned our entire army flight defense,” says Mais. After all, the Taliban had not used aircraft against which the troop should have defended itself. The army has put the anti -aircraft cannon tanker, which is now estimating drones extremely efficiently in Ukraine, more than a decade ago; The light air defense system Ozelot was transferred to the Air Force in 2012.

But now the installation of the air defense has “extremely high priority,” emphasizes Mais. And in all areas: from defense against low-flying aircraft to rocket defense, which is to be ensured by the Air Force, not only by American patriots, but also with Israeli Arrow 3 and German Iris-T systems of different reach.

Patriots are among the best air defense systems in the world, they can combat up to five destinations at the same time at a distance of around 70 kilometers: aircraft, ballistic rockets and marching aircraft. Like the Patriot systems, Iris-T has already proven itself in Ukraine. With a high firepower and hit rate as well as a range of forty kilometers, it should protect inhabited areas, buildings and facilities. Arrow 3, on the other hand, is used in the upper interception layer. It is designed to shoot ballistic rockets at a height of 100 kilometers.

With the reorganization of the Army Aircraft Troupe, which was dissolved in 2012, the land forces should also be able to defend themselves against threats again. In an emergency, she should accompany combat troops on the ground. According to Mais, the army wants to prepare for the Iris-T SLS shorter range and the Skyranger 30 from Rheinmetall in the future. Skyranger is to be installed as a mobile unit on the wheel armor boxer and close the gap that the sparkle left.

Iris-T SLS has not yet been ordered. The Bundeswehr recently received a so -called detection model from Skyranger. However, the troop will never see that. It serves the Bundeswehr procurement office in Koblenz to check the operational safety, approval on the street and other legal requirements. You will have to wait at least a year, says Mais until the first delivery begins. By 2028, 18 more Skyranger are to be handed over to the Bundeswehr, with the option to order 30 additional systems. “Of course I have the hope that they can be called up with the new financial framework as quickly as possible,” says Mais. But even that is only the beginning for a first army flight defense battalion.

With the additional money, the Bundeswehr not only wants to invest in defensive measures, but also to procure other offensive weapons. In addition to digitization and air defense, lieutenant general morns as the third priority of “effect in depth”, about far -reaching artillery or combat drones. So far, the army has only had information drones. But the rich no longer exhausts, says Mais. The Bundeswehr be after electronics, AI, controllability and the use of drone swarms. For the army, Mais already wants “Loitering ammunition” on the lower tactical levels, also known as so -called Kamikazedrohnen. These are unmanned aircraft that circle over an area with a explosive charge and finally plunge into their goal. In Ukraine, these are used by both warrior parties.

“If our army wants to survive on the modern battlefield, we will also need the entire range of drone -based skills,” says Mais. It is about “being able to absorb the battle much earlier and beyond the direct lines of vision and thus increase the survival of your own troops”. The need is clearly seen in the Bundeswehr and only has to be implemented in procurement decisions. Mais is confident that this will happen soon. After loosening the debt brake, he was “more optimistic than I was before”. Beyond these priorities, it is unchanged “to equip the troops promised to NATO holistically, completely and as modern as well as as modern as well as to improve the operational readiness of the home protection associations”.

The question of whether the Bundeswehr could exist on the battlefield arises all the more urgent because the discussion about a possible peacekeeping in Ukraine recently recorded on speed. Mais does not want to comment on whether the army would be equipped for such a mission. However, he worries the time that is still needed to implement the priorities for the land forces. With everything that can be created at short notice in “critical orders” on the eastern flank, ammunition and drone defense are key factors. “We could only bridge current ability gaps in the multinational network with our partners.”