Michael Schoellhorn, Airbus Defence and Space CEO, called on lawmakers to “make a fundamental decision” on the procurement of Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 5 jets by the end of Germany’s current legislative period.
"There is a good working atmosphere and the deliverables are being delivered," Major General Jean-Luc Moritz said of the French-German-Spanish future fighter system project.
“Germany is sticking to the joint [FCAS] project with France and Spain,” said a German MoD spokesperson. “Media reports that Germany is pulling out are false."
MBDA is considering a new hypersonic anti-tank weapon, officials told Breaking Defense during a recent tour of the weapons firm's German facilities.
“Just as it [Arrow-3] guards Israel’s skies and saves lives, now it will also defend Germany and its citizens, and may integrate smoothly with NATO systems,” Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said in Berlin.
Ukraine has said it will use the US-made tanks sparingly, and analysts told Breaking Defense they're unlikely to make an immediate strategic impact — unless there's a breakthrough.
After a high-level meeting, both stressed a separate European Defense Fund effort is no competition for the Main Ground Combat System.
Germany is not the first European country to join, but as a political and economic center of the continent, Berlin's move could convince several others to follow suit.
The Israeli firm also said it's moving to next phase for the Trophy on the latest British Challenger tanks.
Germany is expected to have an initial operational capability by 2025 and be fully operational by 2030.
The new Combined Joint Network Operations Security Center (CJ-NOSC) "gives us the ability [to] collaborate along with our partners, which hasn't existed before," US Lt. Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of Army I Corps, told Breaking Defense.
The contract award is a major win for Hanwha — but is also much smaller than originally envisioned.
"We've just seen an awesome demonstration of firepower here, from different weapons platforms, from different nations. But importantly, all used the same battlefield command and Strategy Center to aim for those targets," Lt. Gen. Greg Bilton, the Australian Defence Force's chief of joint operations, said.
While the agreement comes with a number of gifts to Ukraine, including the promise to waive standard requirements for NATO membership in the future, it falls well short of the goal set by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that NATO members lay out a clear path forward for his country to join the alliance.
"We are proceeding [with additional funding] because we are convinced it is necessary and the only right thing to do is support Ukraine for as long as it takes," said Boris Pistorius, Germany's minister of defense.