German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has announced an end to the downward trend in Bundeswehr personnel strength since the end of the Cold War.
The decision has been taken to increase numbers in the face of a larger number of foreign deployments and military involvement in the refugee crisis. On 10 May, she announced in Berlin ‘that a quarter of a century of shrinking of the Bundeswehr is over’ adding, ‘it is time for the Bundeswehr to grow again’.
Von der Leyen said the Bundeswehr would grow by some 7,000 soldiers and 4,400 civilians by 2023. Existing numbers
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Speaking in the UK Parliament, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said possible changes in the country’s steelmaking industry will have little impact on defence projects; while much of the steel in British vehicles and ships is imported.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the arrival of more Patriot air defence systems in his country. The development follows the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha calling for 10 more systems last month and Zelenskyy reiterating the need for more.
The country’s air defence batteries will be equipped with new command posts, wheeled communication nodes and radios. The system itself is in service with more than 14 countries with 13 systems in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s quest to replace soldiers with robots is hitting technical snags. Shephard spoke with industry leaders about difficulties in the field and what solutions are in the pipeline.
The partnership between Croatia’s DOK-ING and Slovenia’s Valhalla Turrets reflects an effort to combine ground robots and with improved capabilities and new roles and follows Rheinmetall presenting its Ox with Dispatch charging docks from Valinor.
The UK’s effort to replace thousands of vehicles across a dozen base vehicle types has had a troubled history and statements from the UK’s Defence Minster Luke Pollard indicate change may be on the way.
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