The country thought they would live in a peaceful Europe, so in the past they spent less money on their own military defense,
Germany lived for a long time without expecting a war in Europe, so part of its army reserves, including tanks, became obsolete. This statement was made in an interview on Radio Liberty by German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock.
“We thought and believed that we would live in peace in Europe. And therefore in the past we spent less on our own military defense, we can talk a lot about it, but this is a fact and a fact,” he said .
This makes it more difficult for Germany to supply weapons from its own stockpiles, Burbock said. According to him, there is equipment that is 50 years old.
“We thought, for example, that we would never use tanks again. I mean, our military tanks, the worst you can think of in Europe. This has been the case in recent decades, because Europe was built to live in peace . This is old-fashioned, and our weapons stocks are not supposed to be now, except for some parts of air defense,” he said.
At the same time, Burbock recalled that Germany was supplying Ukraine with modern weapons, in particular artillery.
Germany has the older Leopard 1 tank (in service with the Bundeswehr since 1965) and updated Leopard 2s (since 1979). German media reported in April that Ukraine could be supplied with the Leopard 1A5.
The profile publication Defense Express states that the 1A5 is the fifth modernization of the Leopards of the first series, produced in 1987. It has improved protection, a weapon stabilizer, a new aiming and computerized fire control system, and an 830 horsepower engine.
According to journalists, the weapon control system of the 1A5 is at the same level or even exceeds the quality of the Soviet tanks of the late 80s – T-64 BV, T-72B, T-80. They assessed the firepower of the 105-mm cannon as comparable to the indicators of the standard 125-mm Mango projectile of Soviet tanks.
The publication adds that armor protection has always been the weak point of this tank, but it has improved with each upgrade, now it is difficult to evaluate it due to the spaced and additional modular armor.
Recall that the Bundestag supports the direct supply of heavy weapons to Kyiv.
Earlier in Berlin, they said that the IRIS-T air defense system promised to Ukraine is still in the production stage in Germany. It will be ready for transfer to Ukraine by the end of summer.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.