The German armed forces are in a state of deep crisis, faced with acute underfunding, the newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung wrote. According to the publication, the 38.5 billion euros Germany plans to spend on defence in 2018 seem sufficient only at first glance.

According to Suddeutsche Zeitung, during its participation in the 2011-2014 US-led campaign in Afghanistan, the Bundeswehr was literally turned into a “spare parts warehouse” providing the German contingent with everything it needed, while simultaneously losing its ability to defend Germany itself and fulfil its tasks within the NATO framework.

Just as the German government is discussing how to increase its defence spending to 1.5 percent of GDP from 1.3 percent now, experts believe that the uptick will not be enough to fully meet the army’s needs.