On July 29, some sources familiar with the matter said that Germany is preparing a series of procurement orders worth billions of euros, including 20 Eurofighter fighter jets, 3,000 Boxer armored vehicles, and 3,500 Patria infantry fighting vehicles.
The purchases are part of Prime Minister Friedrich Merz's efforts to build the strongest policy army in Europe, with the aim of reducing dependence on an increasingly unpredictable ally, the United States, and shouldering greater responsibility for European security.
Earlier this year, Mr. Merz won parliamentary support to exempt defense spending from debt limits set out in the German constitution, allowing his government to finance the modernization of the army.
Germany's regular defense budget is expected to increase to about 83 billion euros ($95.8 billion) by 2026, up 20 billion euros compared to 2025.
Sources say that the Eurofighter order alone is expected to cost between 4 and 5 billion euros. Meanwhile, the Boxer and Patria military vehicles are estimated at around €10 billion and €7 billion, respectively.
The delivery of Boxer and Patria vehicles is expected to take place within the next 10 years.
Not stopping there, the German Defense Ministry is said to be pushing plans to buy more IRIS-T air defense systems and several hundred SkyRanger unmanned aerial Defense (UAV) platforms.
The German government's move comes as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the US's commitment to its NATO allies, demanding that European countries shoulder more of their defense responsibilities.
This makes Germany and other European countries less certain of full US support, pushing them to be more autonomous in their defense.
