German Minister of Defense Ursula van der Leyen wants €12 billion in additional funding over the current term of parliament to fix the armed forces’ most urgent capability gaps. Reportedly, German minister also wants to award 18 armaments contracts this year, each worth over 25 million. 

This demand created opposition between Defence and Finance Ministries, as Finance Minister Olaf Scholz's financial plan for the next five years foresees an increase in defence funding of only €5,5 billion by 2021. According to local news outlets, von der Leyen threatens to pull out of at least one international armaments project scheduled for 2019 if the defence budget is not given a considerable boost. The first program to be cut would be a planned submarine deal with Norway, followed by the purchase of six Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transport aircraft.