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Politico (27 October 2025)

Chris Lunday

Friedrich Merz said the quiet part out loud back in May: Germany intends to build the Bundeswehr into “the strongest conventional army in Europe,” pledging to give it “all the financial resources it needs.”

Five months later, the German chancellor aims to add the hardware to that ambition, according to new internal government documents seen by POLITICO. 

The sprawling 39-page list lays out €377 billion in desired buys across land, air, sea, space and cyber. The document is a planning overview of arms purchases that will be spelled out in the German military’s 2026 budget, but many are longer-term purchases for which there is no clear time frame.

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