The center-right and center-left parties seeking to form Germany's new government have said they will invest "whatever it takes" in Germany's defenses. That could include modernizing the Bundeswehr on a massive scale. But what would that mean in detail?

The Bundeswehr owns around 1,500 properties across Germany, but many of these are in "a disastrous state," Eva Högl, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, wrote in her annual report for 2024.

The Südpfalz barracks in Germersheim, for example, had mold in the soldiers' quarters, with "water damage and plaster peeling off the walls everywhere," she said following a visit there. In total, an estimated at €67 billion ($72 billion) would be needed to renovate all barracks in the country.

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Personnel shortage is one of the German military's biggest concerns. It currently has around 182,000 soldiers in its ranks. The Defense Ministry's target is 203,000, but recruitment is clearly a problem,

The number of applications increased significantly in 2024. However, some one in four new recruits left the Bundeswehr again within only six months.

The reintroduction of compulsory military service, which was suspended in 2011, is also currently being discussed, but this would entail considerable costs, as the Bundeswehr lacks........

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