DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ NATO helicopters are shooting down and eliminating enemy drones in a rarer kind of Red Sea battle
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Houthi attack drones have mostly been intercepted by US and allied warships in the Red Sea. Air-to-air combat has been much less common, but last month, a French helicopter shot down a drone. One recent interception, however, was credited to a French helicopter crew, which blasted a Houthi attack drone out of the sky in air-to-air combat. AdvertisementPilots are 'well-trained'And the US hasn't been the only naval force to destroy Houthi threats in the Red Sea with embarked helicopters. A Germany Navy Sea Lynx helicopter flies over the corvette Oldenburg in the Baltic Sea on June 05, 2023 near Rostock, Germany.

Persons: —, FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI, Brynn Tannehill, Hawk, Tannehill, Damon Coulter, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Sean Gallup, You've, you've Organizations: US, Red Sea, Service, Helicopters, Getty Images, US Navy, Navy, UH, US Army Black, US Navy Sikorsky, Helicopter Maritime, Naval Air Facility, Getty, aircraft, Command, Germany Navy Sea Lynx, German Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command, BI, Lynx Locations: Red, French, France, Sissonne, AFP, Getty Images France, Iran, Yemen, Kanagawa, American, Hessen, Baltic, Rostock, Germany

☆ Germany's refusal to send 'Taurus' missiles to Ukraine is highly contentious — but won't break the government
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

One key concern is that Ukraine may need on-the-ground help from German soldiers to work the Taurus missiles — a red line for Scholz. Since last November, the CDU has repeatedly tabled votes on sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine in Germany's parliament and failed. Annalena Baerbock, Green party foreign secretary, meanwhile, discussed Taurus missiles with U.K. foreign minister David Cameron. Separately, a high-profile Green party MP joined forces with a prominent CDU politician to pen an op-ed advocating for the delivery of Taurus missiles. "Unfortunately the Taurus debate keeps sucking up all the oxygen in the room, repeating itself over and over again.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Macron, Tusk, Christoph Soeder, Scholz, Chancellor Scholz, Frank Sauer, Annalena, David Cameron, Ulrike Franke, MBDA, Matthias Balk, Sauer, Franke Organizations: Polish, Federal, Getty, Taurus, Bundeswehr, Russia, Christian Democrats, Free Democrats, Greens —, Scholz's Social Democrats, CDU, Greens, Social Democrats, University of, Metis Institute for Strategy, Foresight, CNBC, European Council, Foreign Relations Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Russia, Germany's, Taurus, Bundeswehr Munich, Green, Swedish, Berlin

A Russian military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew and three people accompanying them crashed on Wednesday morning in Russia’s Belgorod region near Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. The authorities were investigating the cause of the crash, and a special military commission was on the way to the crash site, the Defense Ministry said. The Russian Defense Ministry said that air defenses shot down four Ukrainian drones over the Oryol region of western Russia early Wednesday. The German defense ministry announced Wednesday that it plans to send six SEA KING Mk41 multi-role helicopters from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war military deliveries from Germany have amounted to around 6 billion euros ($6.52 billion), including substantial anti-aircraft and air defense systems, the government said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ” Zelenskyy, Oleh Syniehubov, Yuri Parakhin, Vyacheslav Gladkov Organizations: Russia’s Defense Ministry, Defense Ministry, Twitter, Russian Defense Ministry, Oryol, Gov, SEA Locations: Russia’s Belgorod, Ukraine, Russian, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Russia, U.S, Washington, Moscow, Iran, North Korea, Oryol, Ukrainian, Belgorod, United States, Germany, russia, ukraine

☆ Ukraine got the top tanks it wanted from the West, but they're not yet changing the game
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Ukraine got the Leopard, Challenger, and Abrams tanks it asked its Western partners for. It's up to Ukraine to either use the tanks to defend against Russian offensives or preserve them for next spring, experts told Business Insider. AdvertisementNow, almost two years into the war, Ukraine has a force of advanced Western tanks at its disposal. Advertisement"These Western type of tanks are qualitatively superior to even the best Russian tanks that the Russians are using in Ukraine," Gentile told Business Insider. There are also questions of whether or not these will be the only Western tanks Ukraine gets, or if there are more in the pipeline.

Persons: Abrams, —, Seth G, Jones, Harold Brown, There's, Gian Gentile, RAND's, Austin Berner Ukraine, M1 Abrams, Gentile, Iraq's, DANIEL LEAL, hasn't, it's, Philipp Schulze, there's, they're Organizations: Russian, Service, Leopards, Transnational, Center for Strategic, International Studies, RAND's Arroyo Center, US Army, Army Staff, Challenger, M1, Soviet, Defense, Ministry of Defence, Getty, Business, Bundeswehr, Ukraine Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Fort Benning, Ga, Soviet, Russia, Soviet Union, England, Zaporizhzhia, Azov, Crimea, Avdiivka, Russian, Lower Saxony, Bergen

☆ Germany pledges to make its military 'the backbone of defence in Europe'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreBERLIN, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Germany will strengthen its military to make it the backbone of deterrence and collective defence in Europe, its defence minister pledged on Thursday as Berlin issued new defence policy guidelines for the first time in over a decade. The 19-page document details what the "Zeitenwende" - the major shift of policy German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - means for the workings of the Bundeswehr. "With the Zeitenwende, Germany becomes a grown up country in terms of security policy," Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said as he presented the guidelines, the first since 2011 when Berlin suspended conscription. "As the most populous and an economically strong country at the heart of Europe, Germany must be the backbone of deterrence and collective defence in Europe," Pistorius said. German forces needed to be refocused on their core mission -the credible defence of Germany and its allies - and be "ready to fight a war", he said.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Wolfgang Rattay, Boris Pistorius, Pistorius, Sabine Siebold, Toby Chopra, Ed Osmond Organizations: Patriot, Bonn Air Force, Territorial Command, Bundeswehr, REUTERS, Berlin, Thomson Locations: Cologne, Wahn, Germany, BERLIN, Europe, Ukraine, Berlin, prioritise, Lithuania

☆ Ukraine has a new weapon in its fight against Russia – 100 Cold War-era German tanks designed by Porsche
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine has a new weapon in its fight against Russia – Cold War-era German battle tanks. According to The New York Times, Germany sent 10 of the obsolete Leopard 1A5 tanks to Ukraine last month. According to The New York Times, Germany sent 10 decommissioned Leopard 1A5 tanks to Ukraine last month. AdvertisementAdvertisementMarlow said the Leopard 1A5 is also easier to master, maintain, and fix than its modern descendant, the Leopard 2A6. A Ukrainian tank crew stands next the Leopard 1A5 main battle tank.

Persons: Getty, Sean Gallup, Andreas Marlow, Marlow, Christian Mölling Organizations: Russia, The New York Times, Service, Leopard, Porsche, Krauss, Maffei, Times, Leopard 1A5, Bundeswehr, German, Foreign Relations, Ukrainian, Brussels Times Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Wall, Silicon, West Germany, Europe, Ukrainian, Klietz

☆ Offensive tactics and leadership rise to top of Kyiv's training wish list
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In January, Western nations pledged to send to Ukraine several dozen modern Leopard 2 tanks, a scarce asset in most armies today. Scrambling to find more heavy armour for Kyiv, they later also turned to the industry's mothballed Leopard 1 tanks. Citing reasons of operational security, Marlow declined to give a number for the Ukrainian tank crews trained and tanks delivered so far. However, he said that the training of the next Ukrainian Leopard 1 crews would start as soon as the current round of training wraps up next week. "We are strongly motivated to defend our fatherland, and this is the best remedy for fear," he said.

Persons: Annegret, General Andreas Marlow, Marlow, Sabine Siebold, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Leopard, European Union Military Assistance, EUMAM, REUTERS, Command, IRIS, KMW, Germany's Bundeswehr, Ukrainian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, EUMAM Ukraine, Klietz, Germany, Berlin, Kyiv, Denmark, Ukrainian

☆ Germany walks back plan to meet NATO spending target on annual basis
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Holger Hansen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Banners displaying the NATO logo are placed at the entrance of new NATO headquarters during the move to the new building, in Brussels, Belgium April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Aug 16 (Reuters) - The German government has retreated from a plan to legally commit itself to meeting NATO's 2% military spending target on an annual basis, a government source told Reuters on Wednesday. The change means that Germany will be able to stick to its current pledge of meeting the 2% target on average over a five-year period. NATO allies have criticised Berlin strongly in the past for not spending 2% of its gross domestic product on defence annually. It is unclear whether Berlin will keep military spending over this threshold once a 100 billion euro ($101 billion) special fund to bring the Bundeswehr back up to standard is used up.

Persons: Yves Herman, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, " Scholz, Holger Hansen, Miranda Murray, Sabine Siebold, Friederike Heine, Rachel More Organizations: NATO, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Bundeswehr, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Germany, Ukraine, Berlin

☆ Germany will own NATO's 2nd largest helicopter fleet after Chinook purchase, air force chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Axel SchmidtBERLIN, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Germany will own NATO's second largest helicopter fleet with the 60 Chinooks it announced it was buying last month, German Air Force Chief Ingo Gerhartz was quoted as saying on Friday. "We will be the second largest helicopter nation in NATO after the U.S.," Gerhartz was quoted as saying by RND media network. Almost 50 Chinook helicopters would be stationed at the Holzdorf/Schoenewalde site in eastern Germany, where 1,000 additional soldiers will be also stationed, Gerhartz added. "The Schoenewalde site will play a unique key role for the Air Force, the entire Bundeswehr and Germany's security," he said.

Persons: Axel Schmidt BERLIN, Ingo Gerhartz, Gerhartz, Riham, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Boeing, ILA, REUTERS, German Air Force, Reuters, NATO, Air Force, Bundeswehr, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, U.S

☆ German arms maker takes Finland to market court over rifle choice
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A soldier of the special forces unit KSK of Germany's army Bundeswehr holds the Heckler & Koch assault rifle G95/HK416 during a training exercise in Calw, Germany, October 24, 2022. REUTERS/Heiko Becker/File PhotoHELSINKI, Aug 8 (Reuters) - German gun maker Heckler & Koch has filed a complaint with the Finnish Market Court over Finland's direct arms purchase from a local manufacturer, bypassing competition rules, court documents seen by Reuters showed on Tuesday. Finland's defence forces said the procurement followed Finnish and EU exceptions to competition rules on the basis of national security interests. Contacted by Reuters, Heckler & Koch GmbH declined to comment on the proceeding and did not reveal if it had filed a similar complaint in Sweden. The Swedish Market Court or Stockholm's Administrative Court found no pending complaints by the German company in their registries.

Persons: Koch, Heiko Becker, Italy's Beretta, Heckler, Anne Kauranen, Christina Fincher Organizations: Bundeswehr, Heckler, REUTERS, Finnish Market Court, Reuters, EU, Sako, Finnish Defence Forces, RK, AK, Heckler & Koch, Nordic, NATO, Koch, Swedish, Thomson Locations: Calw, Germany, Sweden, Finnish, Sako, Finland, Swedish, Ukraine, Stockholm's

☆ Berlin aims to have "best equipped" NATO army division in Europe in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Heiko BeckerBERLIN, July 17 (Reuters) - Germany is confident it will have the best equipped army division amongst European NATO allies in 2025, Army Chief Alfons Mais told Reuters, as countries are scrambling to gear up their troops in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At the moment, Berlin does not have a single combat-ready division, a military unit comprising more than 20,000 troops. It aims to have the first of three divisions operational by 2025, with the second to follow in 2027. "It will be sufficient, in any case, to contribute the best equipped division of all European NATO partners in 2025. "But supporting Ukraine is more important right now than establishing a division, as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has stressed," he underlined.

Persons: Boris Pistorius, Heiko Becker BERLIN, Alfons Mais, Mais, Jens Stoltenberg, Olaf Scholz, Sabine Siebold, Emma, Victoria Farr, David Evans Organizations: German, Bundeswehr, REUTERS, NATO, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Hammelburg, Germany, Ukraine, Berlin, Dutch, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kyiv

☆ Factbox: Denied a NATO invitation, Ukraine still reaps rewards at summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

VILNIUS, July 12 (Reuters) - NATO leaders at this week's summit in Vilnius said Ukraine should be able to join the military alliance at some point in the future but dashed Kyiv's hopes for an immediate invitation. Below are some of the main commitments pledged to Ukraine in connection with the summit. In a declaration, NATO countries also pledged its support for Ukraine for "as long as it takes". Britain will also launch a project through NATO to establish a medical rehabilitation centre for Ukrainian soldiers. NORWEGIAN SUPPORTNorway will increase its military support to Ukraine by 2.5 billion crowns ($239 million) this year to 10 billion.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Niklas Pollard, John Irish, Sabine Siebold, Andrew Gray, Justyna, Alex Richardson Organizations: NATO, Ukraine Council, Ukraine, France, Challenger, GERMAN PATRIOTS German, Thomson Locations: VILNIUS, Vilnius, Ukraine, Russia, NATO, Kyiv, Moscow, Britain, Ukrainian, Denmark, Romania, Norway

☆ NATO unity will be tested at upcoming summit. Ukraine's possible entry may be the biggest challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Patriot long-range air defence systems of the German Bundeswehr armed forces are deployed at Vilnius Airport ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 7, 2023. "I don't think it's ready for membership in NATO," President Joe Biden told CNN in an interview airing Sunday. More than two-thirds of alliance members have banned the weapon because it has a track record for causing many civilian casualties. As for Ukraine's possible entry into NATO, the alliance said in 2008 that Kyiv eventually would become a member. "That's an issue that will cause tension and dissent, and that's not what the Vilnius summit is all about," he said.

Persons: NATO's, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Douglas Lute, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Lute, Mitch McConnell, Putin, Daniel Fried, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finland, Erdogan, It's, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Max Bergmann, They've, Bergmann, Viktor Orban, Idaho Sen, Jim Risch, aren't, Risch, I'm, we've, Jens Stoltenberg, who's, Mette Frederiksen, Stoltenberg, Rasmussen, Skip Davis, that's Organizations: German Bundeswehr, Vilnius Airport, NATO Summit, NATO, CNN, Republican, Kentucky, Associated Press, Putin, Atlantic Council, Ukraine, State Department, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Senate Foreign Relations, Danish, Center for Locations: German, Vilnius, Lithuania, Russian, Ukraine, Sweden, Eastern Europe, United States, Israel, Moscow, Finland, U.S, Russia, Kyiv, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Stockholm, Idaho, Hungary, Baltic, Norwegian, Danish

☆ Germany to buy 60 Chinooks for up to 8 bln euros -lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, July 5 (Reuters) - Germany will buy 60 Chinook helicopters from Boeing (BA.N) in a package that will cost up to 8 billion euros ($8.7 billion), including necessary infrastructure for the aircraft, two members of the parliamentary budget committee told Reuters on Wednesday. The sum includes the procurement of the CH-47 heavy-lift helicopters for 6.27 billion euros, 700 million euros for service, 240 million euros for national contracts and 750 million euros for infrastructure, according to earlier information. Germany said it planned to buy 60 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters from Boeing last year to replace its ageing CH-53 fleet. Originally, 6 billion euros had been budgeted. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shifted policy in February 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, sharply increasing defence spending and committing 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Sebastian Schaefer, Holger Hansen, Sabine Siebold, Friederike Heine, Emelia Organizations: Boeing, Reuters, Wednesday, Bundeswehr, Greens, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Germany, Holzdorf, Berlin, Poland, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Berlin plans to spend 8 billion euros in package for 60 Boeing Chinook helicopters
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, June 23 (Reuters) - Germany aims to purchase 60 Chinook helicopters from Boeing (BA.N) in a package that would cost up to 8 billion euros ($8.71 billion), including necessary infrastructure for the aircraft, a parliamentary source told Reuters on Friday. The sum includes the procurement of the CH-47 heavy-lift helicopters for 6.27 billion euros, 700 million euros for service, 240 million euros for national contracts and 750 million euros for the infrastructure, the source said, confirming reports by other media. Germany announced its intent to buy 60 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters from Boeing (BA.N) last year to replace its ageing CH-53 fleet. Originally, six billion euros had been budgeted for the helicopters. Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz shifted policy in February 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, sharply increasing defense spending and committing 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Sabine Siebold, Maria Sheahan, Tom Sims Organizations: Boeing, Bundeswehr, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Germany, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine is kicking off its big offensive armed with powerful Western tanks and weapons, but breaking Russian lines may be anything but easy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Ukrainians are armed with Western weapons, including tanks and armored vehicles, but they are facing tough Russian defenses. There appear to be Ukrainian offensive operations against Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts, among other locations along the front lines. As some experts have said, the stakes for the Ukrainian offensive are high. Unlike last summer's sweeping offensive around Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces are facing much more heavily defended positions. The think tank added, as Russia makes claims of thwarting Ukraine's offensive, that "the success or failure of this phase may not be apparent for some time."

Persons: —, Klaus, Dietmar Gabbert, Mark Milley, Laurent van der, ISW, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Ukrainian, Washington Post, Financial Times, Kyiv hasn't, ABC News, NBC, Institute for, Bundeswehr, Getty Images, US, Joint Chiefs of Staff, CNN, New York Times, 81st Airmobile Battalion, Le Monde, Russian Ministry of Defense, Wall Locations: Ukraine, Donetsk, Russia, Russian, Klietz, Germany, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Seversk, Novopokrovka

☆ Germany is finally focusing on defending NATO, but its military 'lacks almost everything' it needs to do it, a former German general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

That's the warning from a former German general who argues that Germany must refurbish its badly neglected armed forces — though this will take years to accomplish. Today, the German military is just 183,000-strong, and it can't meet its recruiting goals. In 2020, German defense spending was only 1.4% of GDP, well short of 2% goal that NATO members have pledged to hit by 2024. "Armament procurement concentrated on armored transport vehicles rather than on battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles," Vad writes. RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty ImagesDespite years of calls by France for pan-European defense, coordinating German defense procurement with other EU states — each with distinct military needs and political priorities – is difficult.

☆ Three Russian military aircraft intercepted over the Baltic Sea, German Armed Forces says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Chris Stern | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —German and British fighter jets intercepted three Russian aircraft in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the German Armed Forces said on Wednesday. Two Su-27 military aircraft and one Il-20 were “again flying without transponder signal,” the German Armed Forces tweeted. Since NATO countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania don’t have their own fighter jets, the military alliance has secured the Baltic airspace in north-eastern Europe since 2004. To this end, the allies regularly deploy fighter jets and personnel to the Baltic Sea states bordering Russia. However, the German Air Force will continue to support it until the end of the month.

☆ Front-line NATO allies worry they could be next after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and are getting ready for a fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Sinéad Baker | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

These countries along the military alliance's front line are now scrambling to make sure they're protected should the Russian military ever come knocking. "There is an imminent need of a stronger NATO presence in our region," Estonia's Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said. For nearly 14 months, the Russian military has been bogged down by its grinding war in Ukraine. More boots on the groundSome leaders in the Baltic countries have said that they ultimately want to host more NATO troops, including permanent brigades, in the years to come. So as the threat landscape continues to shift, the Baltic defense has adapted along with it, Townsend said.

☆ Germany forced to halt evacuation mission from Sudan - Spiegel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 19 (Reuters) - A mission by the German military to evacuate around 150 citizens from Sudan had to be halted on Wednesday due to fighting in the capital Khartoum, the Spiegel news magazine reported citing unnamed sources. Spiegel said the Luftwaffe air force had dispatched three A400M transport planes for the mission early on Wednesday. The Bundeswehr military aborted the mission amid reports of renewed clashes and airstrikes in Khartoum, according to the report. Fighting erupted in Sudan on Saturday, killing at least 185 people and derailing an internationally backed plan for a transition to civilian democracy in the country. Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Friederike HeineOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A 1960s-era cannon is 'kicking ass' against Russia's drones, but the country that makes ammo for it won't send more to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But Switzerland, where Gepard ammo is made, is not allowing more of that ammo to be sent to Ukraine. The Gepard SPAAGA German Gepard anti-aircraft tank during an exercise near Munster in June 2007. German defense company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann built 570 Gepards between 1963 and 1980 — 420 for the German Bundeswehr, 95 for the Dutch army, and 55 for the Belgian army. Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty ImagesAfter being criticized for its reluctance to send heavy weaponry to Ukraine, the German government promised some 50 Gepards to Ukraine in April 2022. In February, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that German firm Rheinmetall would restart ammo production for the Gepard.

☆ Russian spies are using Tinder to ensnare German soldiers and politicians to get them to disclose Ukraine war secrets, counterintelligence warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Sinéad Baker | Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian spies are using Tinder to pursue intelligence about the Ukraine war, Germany warned. Spies are targeting German soldiers and politicians, the country's counterintelligence service said. Intelligence services like Russia's appear to be using the dating app to seek intel and recruits. Other governments have previously warned that spies and foreign intelligence bodies could be using dating apps like Tinder to find sources and gather information. But the dating app has also been used by others in relation to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

☆ Germany's military gaps cannot be fully bridged by 2030, defence minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 1 (Reuters) - Germany's military cannot completely fill its existing gaps by 2030, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was quoted as saying, as Berlin seeks to revamp its armed forces after Russia's invasion of Ukraine following decades of neglect. "We all know that the existing gaps cannot be completely closed by 2030... Everyone is aware of that," Pistorius said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag newspaper published on Saturday. As federal defence minister, I cannot give everything away," he said. "If that is then set in motion at the end of the (legislative) period, then I would be satisfied," he added.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: German and British tanks arrive in Ukraine; Russia fires supersonic missiles off Japan's coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The first shipment of German Leopard 2 tanks, much-awaited by Ukraine, has arrived in the war-torn country, Germany's defense ministry said Tuesday. Eighteen of the tanks, ammunition and spare parts, as well as two "Buffalo" armored recovery vehicles arrived in Ukraine, the ministry said in a statement. "As promised, our tanks arrived on time in the hands of our Ukrainian friends. The Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces, has spent the last two months training Ukrainian soldiers on the weapon systems at a site near Munster, Germany. On the heels of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's decision in January to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks, the Biden administration announced it will equip Ukraine with the mighty M1A1 Abrams tank.

☆ Germany to buy Airbus civil helicopter and convert for combat, Business Insider reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 18 (Reuters) - Germany's Defence Ministry wants to buy 82 Airbus (AIR.PA) H-145M civilian helicopters and convert some of them into combat helicopters to replace its Tiger combat fleet, Business Insider reported, citing military internal documents. Germany last year shifted its defence policy after Russia invaded Ukraine, committing 100 billion euros ($107 billion) to modernize the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces. The Defence Ministry was not immediately available for comment. The H-145M helicopters are approved for military use but are not designed as combat aircraft and the Bundeswehr has concerns about the machine's combat suitability and crew protection, which the ministry has ignored so far, the report added. ($1 = 0.9376 euros)Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Bundeswehr"

25 mentions found