Key Elements of the Bundeswehr of the Future
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Key Elements of the Bundeswehr of the Future
Content
I. The security environment 7
II. Demands on the Bundeswehr 10
III. Key elements 15
1. Armed forces planning and capabilities 15
2. Further development of the armed forces’ command
and control organisation 19
3. Operational and materiel readiness of the armed forces 27
4. Procurement and in-service support 29
5. Federal defence administration 32
6. Federal Ministry of Defence 35
7. Strategic capacity 37
8. Planning law and funding 39
IV. Next steps 40
Imprint 42
CONTENT 3
The government policy statement of 23 July 2019 identified three priorities of work for the Bundeswehr.
First: increase public awareness of the Bundeswehr; second: increase operational and materiel readiness;
third: better combine tasks and responsibilities. Specific measures that have since been taken include: free
rail travel in uniform, public pledge ceremonies, implementation of initial measures by the procurement
organisation working group and the readiness initiative. Our position paper of 9 February 2021 identified
the need for change beyond that – the need for thorough adjustments in the Bundeswehr, the defence
administration and the Federal Ministry of Defence (FMoD).
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Federal Minister of Defence As a next step, this document details the need for action and presents the proposals we have developed
on this basis. We offer options for the prompt implementation of those proposals and develop prospects
for setting the long-term course in the armed forces, the administration, with regard to procurement
and in-service support, and in the Federal Ministry of Defence. The path we have now embarked on has
been discussed for quite some time. Numerous internal and external analyses have examined the subject
to a sufficient degree. We must now turn those insights into action. These key elements will initiate the
necessary steps and concepts. All measures are supported by the FMoD executive group as well as military
commanders.
The measures we have taken have one common goal: to make the Bundeswehr fit for the future. They
intentionally do not resemble previous large Bundeswehr reforms, however. Such disruptive reorgani-
sations will not be necessary in the next four to five years. In addition, the steps presented here will not
require any additional personnel augmentation. They can all be accomplished within the scope of existing
personnel structures. The two official seats of the Federal Ministry of Defence, in Bonn and in Berlin, have
Photos: Bundeswehr/Sebastian Wilke
served us well, especially during the pandemic. Digital technology and flexible working mean that issues
regarding location have become less urgent than they might have been in the past. For this reason, we do
not believe there is any need for change in this regard.
Within the scope of these key elements, we are assuming the executive responsibility assigned to us
Eberhard Zorn and are simultaneously striving to make a contribution to the decisions coming up in the next legisla-
Chief of Defence tive period.
4 5
I.
THE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
Structural changes in international security nuclear deterrence with respect to security in
Photo: Bundeswehr/Marco Dorow
policy are progressing at rapid speeds. The Europe – and the importance of nuclear sharing
combination of emerging powers, revolutionary for Germany along with it. There is relatively
technologies, revived ideologies, demographics, little understanding of the rapid development of
pandemics and climate change creates a global weapon technologies that permanently change
situation that puts German security and defence conflicts and complicate arms control, for
policy under considerable pressure to adapt. instance with hypersonic missiles, the militari-
Since 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany sation of outer space and highly complex drone
has also been making an important military operations.
contribution to ensuring freedom and peace in China’s ambitious and increasingly aggressive
Europe. To ensure that this will remain possible power politics, whose objectives include re-
in the future, we must make fundamental deci- shaping the rules-based order and interna-
sions today. As a tool of national public services tional law, could also become a risk for Ger-
and one of the federal government’s foreign many’s globalised economy and is currently
policy instruments, the Bundeswehr must not attracting more attention than it used to. The
only have modern equipment and display an resulting security risks for our country, however,
extraordinary degree of operational and mate- still appear to be too intangible for most.
riel readiness. It must also be run efficiently and At the same time, the rules-based multila-
dynamically. Funding must be predictable in teral order, whose benchmark is respect for
the long term and in line with the more intense human rights, democracy, and the rule of law,
threat situation as well as the significantly is increasingly coming under pressure within
increased need for the ability to act indepen- the scope of this more intense risk and threat
dently in the field of security policy. environment. China, Iran, Russia, and North
The public, however, has not yet fully grasped Korea are not the only ones openly defining
the changes in the security situation and the themselves as a counter-model to a liberal
related need for new political approaches. social order. Other actors are following suit
Most people remain unaware of the countless and feel both emboldened and encouraged.
cyber attacks on servers, networks and control The increase in non-state actors that violently
systems that are directed against Germany, our pursue their own or other power interests,
institutions, businesses and citizens every day. overtly or covertly, is consistent with this trend.
Too little is known about the massive Russian These developments and a number of others are
rearmament happening only a few hundred challenging Germany and Europe, not only politi-
kilometres from Germany’s borders. The public cally and economically, but also and especially
massively underestimates the significance of with respect to security and defence policy. For
6 THE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT THE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT 7
one thing, the “hard” risks for European secu- such as those regarding the project on modern
rity have changed and intensified significantly. leadership development and civic education
For another, Europe’s main ally, the United (“Innere Führung – heute”) and the procure-
States of America, is increasingly pivoting away ment organisation. They also include numer-
from Europe. For this reason, Europeans must ous ideas on reforming command and control
become more ready to defend themselves and organisation, for instance from the study phase
increase their ability to take military action, of the National General/Admiral Staff Officer
both in their own interest and as a partner in Course at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff
the Atlantic security space. College and from generals and admirals. Sugges-
Based on its geographic location at the heart tions by the chiefs of the services regarding the
of Europe, its economic performance and the adjustment of command and control structures
fundamental connection between German and as well as analyses by the directors of higher
European security, our country has a particular federal authorities and directors-general at the
obligation. Germany’s diplomatic and mili- Federal Ministry of Defence were also evalu-
tary capabilities are an essential contribution ated. Lastly, considerations by political repre-
to empowering a free, independent and safe sentatives and the parliament, as well as parties
Europe. In detail, this means: Demands on and parliamentary groups, and insights gained
the Bundeswehr will increase – in the short, during discussions with military personnel of
medium and long term. This applies to the all ranks within the scope of troop visits were
German armed forces’ core mission, protecting taken into account.
Germany and German citizens as well as Ger- Our own findings are consistent with external
many’s allies, but also to the equally important ones: We need stronger strategic management,
task of making a contribution to international more streamlined processes and a focus on the
Photo: Bundeswehr/Christian Thiel
crisis management. essential aspects. We must streamline our struc-
To make sure that Germany remains a powerful tures, remedy top-heaviness and confusion over
and competitive player in security policy as well responsibilities, and once again create oper-
as a reliable partner and ally, the Bundeswehr ationally ready, larger formations. We will only
must be even more rigorously geared toward improve our operational and materiel readiness
the changed and concentrated requirements if we focus on our core mission and consistently
with respect to capabilities, organisation and adapt accordingly.
operational and materiel readiness. To this end, Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pan-
a great deal of research within the FMoD’s area demic also confirm this. Our military personnel
of responsibility, but also outside of the Bun- have displayed great motivation and outstand-
deswehr, has yielded analyses and comprehen- ing accomplishments. At the same time, we
sive insights. have realised once more that there is room for
A number of study results and recommen- improvement with regard to coordination and
dations for reform were taken into account. command and control.
They include suggestions from working groups All in all, this paints a clear picture: There is no
8 THE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT THE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT 9
need for a fundamental Bundeswehr reform. require provisions and ideas to supplement and
The current stationing concept and force update them. Swift adjustments of armed forces
structures put us in a good overall position. planning, command and control organisation
However, the Bundeswehr Concept and the and requirements regarding operational and
Bundeswehr Capability Profile (both from 2018) materiel readiness are necessary.
II.
DEMANDS ON THE BUNDESWEHR
Based on Germany’s roles within the security forces, especially on the external borders of the
environment, there are specific demands on the Alliance.
Bundeswehr. Initial-entry capabilities for responding to an escalat-
ing military crisis require a cold-start capability,
National and collective defence and initial-entry a high degree of responsiveness, and robustness
forces against existing enemy anti-access/area denial (A2/
The Bundeswehr must remain able to conduct mili- AD) architectures. A high level of operational and
tary operations against peer competitors in com- materiel readiness even in peacetime is paramount.
bined arms operations and, in future, also in multi- This requires integrated systems of combat units
domain operations – across the entire spectrum up and support forces that are structured, trained and
to high-intensity combat. This necessitates military equipped in a way that allows for rapid deployment.
deterrence capabilities across the entire spectrum, They must be ready for quick deployment, scalable
including nuclear sharing. The same authoritarian to different scenarios and agile, i.e. capable of quickly
states that use hybrid approaches to flexibly con- establishing a concentration of effort.
trol conflicts below the threshold of Article 5 of the In future, conflicts will be led and decided across
North Atlantic Treaty continue to expand on their all domains – land, air/space, maritime as well as Photo: Bundeswehr/Marco Dorow
conventional warfare capabilities and already have the cyber and information domain – with quick
initial-entry capabilities today. changes of focus and often deliberately masked and
In light of security policy developments and tech- obscured by hybrid activities at the intersections of
nological progress, time and speed are becoming peace, crisis and war.
considerably more important. The Bundeswehr must Our armed forces must be in a position to provide
be capable of responding to a conflict escalation our political leadership with flexible military options
without long lead times, i.e. employing initial-entry as well as forces and capabilities that are able to act
10 DEMANDS ON THE BUNDESWEHR 11
in all domains as required by the situation. They must through a command and control organisation in peace-
be able to act quickly and seamlessly across domains time, in the event of a disaster or state of domestic
and be sustainable across the entire spectrum of emergency or during a state of tension or defence. This
domains simultaneously. In this context, interoper- means that the competences and structures assigned
ability and coordinated action between domains to the national territorial commander must be consoli-
down to the lowest tactical level are essential. dated.
To this end, a stronger focus on domain responsibil- Sustainable performance of these tasks is only possible
ity as well as coordinated action between domains with strong territorial reserves that are quick to deploy.
is necessary. This applies to command and control This requires a high degree of operational and materiel
organisation, structure, and planning and conduct readiness, also for the reserves, in terms of structure,
of operations. For this reason, the guiding principle personnel, and materiel as well as with regard to train-
is: “Organise as you fight”. Seamless command and ing status and infrastructure. It must be possible to
control from the strategic and operational levels augment the reserves quickly and at an early stage. The
down to the lowest tactical level are imperative. decision to establish home defence regiments was our
first step in this process.
Germany as a central hub, homeland security and In line with a whole-of-government approach, com-
national territorial defence mand and control organisation in homeland security
In peacetime, the Bundeswehr must be able to perform and national territorial defence must network and
and coordinate extensive duties within the scope of coordinate even more closely with structures pertaining
administrative assistance. Even during the initial stage to civilian preparedness for war in the future.
of an emerging crisis, the Bundeswehr must already
be able to contribute to preventive security and, in International crisis management
the event of national/collective defence, contribute to The Bundeswehr must remain prepared to contribute
Photo: Bundeswehr/Marco Dorow
homeland and Alliance security. force contingents to international crisis management
The task spectrum includes ensuring command and for extended periods of time. It will have to cont-
control as well as support capabilities, including the ribute to rapid response capabilities in the event of
protection of defence-critical infrastructure, and international crises, especially within the framework
ensuring that the Alliance has operational freedom in of NATO, the EU and the UN, and earmark rapid
Germany – including adjacent seas, airfields and the response forces for this purpose. This includes the
cyberspace. This requires logistic capabilities as well as capability to command and control units of this kind.
secure bases for land, air and naval forces to ensure the In this context, the Bundeswehr often acts as a
Alliance’s freedom of movement and the ability to take framework partner for smaller nations and assumes
action in continental Europe. command responsibility for multinational task
To cover this wide span of command and control, the forces.
Bundeswehr needs a functional and resilient territorial
command and control organisation. A supporting partner with shared values
The national territorial commander must be able to Germany will continue to be one of the nations
perform their duties seamlessly across all functions, and that play a key role in NATO and the EU. This
12 DEMANDS ON THE BUNDESWEHR DEMANDS ON THE BUNDESWEHR 13
role is in keeping with Germany’s own aim of Bundeswehr must also further increase its focus
making contributions – in all domains – that are on the international level in order to take action
commensurate with our size and economic power, together with partners worldwide. To this end,
which is in line with our partners’ expectations. the Bundeswehr will take measures such as further
Accordingly, the Bundeswehr needs to maintain a expanding and enhancing its cooperation in the
broad military profile from which other nations, areas of armaments and in-service support, as
especially smaller ones, can draw support. well as joint exercises with its partners within the
As a credible partner with shared values, the existing political framework.
III.
KEY ELEMENTS
The following five basic principles will guide the will be reinvested at the tactical levels
further development of the Bundeswehr’s com- • Increasing operational and materiel readiness:
mand and control organisation: all the measures initiated will contribute to
• Improved functionality: command and cont- increasing the armed forces’ operational and
rol structures and processes must be designed materiel readiness.
to ensure that tasks are performed quickly and Domain-specific aspects that have special effects
Photo: Bundeswehr/Björn Wilke
smoothly on mission accomplishment will also be taken into
• Increased effectiveness: interfaces are reduced in consideration. At the same time, these principles are
number and clearly defined, responsibilities deter- essential criteria for the necessary follow-up analyses.
mined, and discontinuities do not exist between the
individual levels 1. Armed forces planning and capabilities
• Expanded decentralisation: wherever possible, Principles and objectives
required forces and assets will be integrated Principles and objectives
into the relevant structures; forces and assets The commitments Germany has made in line with
will only be pooled centrally where absolutely the NATO planning targets are an integral part of its
necessary national level of ambition and reflect the Bundes-
• Strengthening the troops: the resources freed up wehr’s long-term aims. The Bundeswehr Capability
by changing the command and control structures Profile implements Germany’s national level of
and reducing top-heavy organisational structures ambition for armed forces planning, which means
14 KEY ELEMENTS KEY ELEMENTS 15
that it will continue to guide future measures. reduce costs and complexity and in the interest of
However, the changing circumstances mean that improved management, prioritisation, and accel-
we have to adjust parts of this system of objectives. eration of projects with consistent requirements
To this end, we have to review the qualitative and controlling
quantitative characteristics of the capabilities and, if • Prioritise commercially available systems and
necessary, redefine the point in time at which each is multinational cooperation whenever possible in
to be achieved. procurement decisions. We should accept develop-
Our goal is to increase the overall availability of ment solutions in order to secure key technologies
combat-ready forces. For this purpose, it is not strictly or if there are no suitable commercially available
necessary to establish consistently ideal conditions products.
for task accomplishment. Instead, it is a matter of
creating sufficiently suitable solutions in reasonable Priorities
periods of time and with clearly defined points of Some capabilities are so important for national and
focus. collective defence or so urgently in need of moderni-
At the same time, a wide variety of military capabilities sation that they are already priorities.
will be developed – at different quantity and quality We need to establish continuous, effective, inter-
levels. In terms of quantity, this spectrum ranges from operable command and control capabilities from the
fully equipped active duty forces to nonactive assign- strategic level down to the lowest tactical level. There
ment to the reserve troops, while the quality ranges is an urgent need for action at the tactical levels. At
from state-of-the-art advanced technology to the these levels, a command and control capability will
“robust bulk” of assets. soon be established that ensures highly mobile plan-
Photo: Bundeswehr/IAF
This approach will be implemented from the top ning and conduct of operations for the armed forces
down. We need to: across all domains and intensities on a multinational
• Institute consistent strategic capability controlling, basis. Technical options must be assessed and tested
in close consultation with the personnel respon- in the context of scheduling, personnel and financial
sible for the different domains, for the qualitative requirements to determine whether they offer actual
and quantitative characteristics of the capabilities benefits.
• Establish the strategic planning board of the FMoD Developing the capability to achieve rapid projection,
executive group that regularly defines the relevant in all domains, of joint force structures capable of
priorities, specifications for levels of excellence and taking action will increase the operational flexibility
quantity, and the deadlines for when these levels of our armed forces. In the land domain, a continuum
need to be achieved in terms of strategic decisions of light/airmobile, medium/motorised and heavy/
on future action mechanised forces will be established for this purpose.
• Strengthen the Chief of Defence’s overall plan- We will develop a cross-domain ability to prevail
ning responsibility for the overarching concept against an adversary attempting to deny our forces
for military defence through a more efficient and access to an area of operations within the scope of
centralised planning landscape anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD). This includes not
• Monitor the planning and procurement process to only self-protection – e.g. through ground-based air
16 KEY ELEMENTS KEY ELEMENTS 17
defence – but also the necessary offensive capabili- provide the following for NATO and the EU:
ties such as standoff weapon systems and unmanned • A fully operational national division in the land
systems. domain
The Bundeswehr is facing a twofold challenge: once • Command and control, as well as the core of a
again fleshing out and strengthening its existing multinational air group, in the air domain
capabilities and structures on the one hand, and • Permanent command and control of or partici-
keeping up with rapid technological developments pation in up to four NATO or allied maritime task
on the other. This forces us to set clear priorities. forces, as well as taking on responsibility for the
For example, we must continually review which Baltic Sea area (Baltic Maritime Coordination
German capabilities are important because they Function), in the maritime domain
represent a vital contribution to the capabilities of • A Cyber and Information Domain Task Force
NATO and the EU and are essential elements of capable of cooperation in the cyber and informa-
current and likely future operations with our part- tion domain, along with a Combined Joint Opera-
ners and allies. We must consistently provide input tional Communication Task Force and a Multina-
regarding our national considerations on these tional Geo-Meteorological and Oceanographic
matters to the relevant NATO and EU processes at Support
an early stage. • Including the support forces necessary for each of
One contribution to national and collective defence the above.
is providing major units that offer our partners points
of connection. In addition, we need to improve our 2. Further development of the armed forces’
capability to move these forces, as well as the units command and control organisation
of our North American and European partners, across The armed forces’ command and control organisa-
Petersen Bienert
Germany as a central hub. Among other things, this tion will be adapted to the increased and changed
requires logistic capabilities – from railway flatcars demands on the Bundeswehr. The focus will be on
Foto: Bundeswehr/Andrea
and motorway infrastructure to coordination of troop consistently orienting the organisation toward the
movements – without which the Alliance would be tasks of operational command and troop-contributor
Photo: Bundeswehr/Stefan
unable to take action. in the domains. In accordance with this guiding prin-
This also applies to essential enablers of military ciple, the following will be under the administrative
operations, e.g. command and control capabilities, control of the Chief of Defence in future:
as well as logistic assistance and medical support • Two operational commands with directive authority
for operations. Furthermore, it concerns specialised for national command and control of operations
high-value capabilities such as reconnaissance, air- outside of Germany and for performance of the
to-air refuelling, and air transport, as well as ope- Bundeswehr’s tasks at home
rations throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, • Four domain commands that provide operatio-
including electronic warfare and special operations nally ready forces and component commands for
forces. national and international tasks and
We must now aim to quickly increase our • Joint elements that enhance operational and
operational and materiel readiness in order to materiel readiness throughout the Bundeswehr.
18 KEY ELEMENTS KEY ELEMENTS 19Restructuring will adhere to the following principles domains – with a special focus on the land domain
and common guidelines: – will be assessed under ministerial direction. The
• We will maintain the target of 203,300 military key criteria in this regard are functionality, resource
personnel. This figure also includes military service requirements and attractiveness. Adjustments to
volunteers and reservists. The positions needed internal structures should be kept to a minimum.
for reservists in the future must be analysed with a • In accordance with the Chief of Defence’s guide-
view to maintaining an operationally ready reserve lines, increases in efficiency and available resources
force within this target size. will be reinvested to benefit the lower tactical
• Stationing, force structures and unit designations will levels and strengthen urgently needed capabilities
generally remain unchanged. in the support forces.
Photo: Bundeswehr/Tom Twardy
• We plan to design the structure and scope of staff, • In order to sustainably increase the operational
agency and specialist positions to allow for an and materiel readiness of weapon systems, all
increase in capacities for force structures. domains will pool the relevant responsibilities
• In terms of national and collective defence, we and competencies, as well as the corresponding
particularly aim to improve the rapid availability elements for concept, further development and
of proven, combat-effective task forces. Specific operational and materiel readiness of the weapon
aspects of options for improved integration or systems, in “system houses” for the domain-based
more effective cohesion of the logistic, medical and coordination of competencies and responsibilities.
other cross-cutting support forces in the various Subject to examination results regarding procure-
ment and in-service support, this includes those remains responsible for the national command and
areas of in-service support and operation that control of all operations and standby commitments
could be assigned to the domains and, additionally, outside of Germany, for national risk prevention and the
Photo: Bundeswehr/Christoph Liesmann
domain-specific elements. Bundeswehr health care operational command and control of the Bundeswehr
will be treated in much the same way. special operations forces.
• Subject to examination results regarding procure-
ment and in-service support, this includes those Bundeswehr Territorial Operations Command
areas of in-service support and operation that We will establish a Bundeswehr Territorial Operations
could be assigned to the domains and, additionally, Command. In order to increase resilience, it will be
domain-specific elements. Bundeswehr health care based in Bonn and Berlin. In Bonn, we will also make
will be treated in much the same way. our contribution to strengthening cooperation with
• For operations across domains, we will establish relevant bodies and authorities, such as the Federal
a Bundeswehr Joint Doctrine Centre at the Bun- Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance.
deswehr Command and Staff College. We are also The national territorial commander/German Joint
examining the possible establishment of a Joint Support and Enabling Service Headquarters will
Operations/Warfare Centre in the future. examine the details under ministerial direction.
To increase whole-of-government resilience, we
Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command also plan to strengthen the regional territorial
The Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command commands in the 16 federal states.
20 KEY ELEMENTS KEY ELEMENTS 21The future commander of the Territorial Operations in the areas of concepts and further development as
Command will also be the national territorial com- well as training and exercises and consolidate it with
mander. The Territorial Operations Command will the aim of combining it with other elements to form
perform territorial tasks at home, including assistance a system for the land domain-based coordination
in the wake of natural disasters, national emergency of competencies and responsibilities. Integration
situations and severe accidents. It will coordinate the of the Heeresinstandsetzungslogistik GmbH (LLC
deployment of forces within the scope of NATO and responsible for ensuring the operational and materiel
EU operations and be responsible for homeland secu- readiness of major Army weapon systems) remains to
rity and national territorial defence. be examined.
Domain commands Air and space domain
Chiefs of service will command the land, air/space, We will strengthen the air and space domain by
maritime and cyber and information domains. Their establishing the Bundeswehr Space Command under
tasks will include advising the Chief of Defence, pro- the responsibility of the Air Force. It will be planned in
viding combat-ready forces and being able to provide detail and run at the Kalkar garrison across domains
component commands (highest tactical domain and especially in close cooperation with the German
command). Cyber and Information Domain Service Headquarters.
Establishing domain commands promotes the Multinationalisation of the Command is the goal.
necessary development from a contingent-based In addition, the Air Force will establish an Air Warfare
way of thinking (modular combination of centralised Centre for the purpose of pooling responsibilities and
structures of purely functional major military organi- competencies in the areas of concepts and further
sational elements) to deployable formations that are development and will examine possible integration
as self-sufficient as possible and also provide modules of the Federal Office of the Bundeswehr for Military
to form contingents. Aviation with other elements in a system for the air
Photo: Bundeswehr/Dirk Simpson
domain-based coordination of competencies and
Land domain responsibilities with the aim of sustainably increas-
We will improve the cohesion of land forces by ing materiel readiness. The option to transform the
reducing their current fragmentation across the exist- Federal Office of the Bundeswehr for Military Aviation
ing major organisational elements. To this end, the into a civilian higher federal authority for military avia-
Bundeswehr CBRN Defence Command, the Bundes- tion in Germany must be considered as an alternative.
wehr Military Police Command and the Multinational The Air Force will streamline its command and control
CIMIC Command will be assigned to the land domain structures, particularly with regard to clearly defining
as self-contained capability coordination commands responsibilities and establishing capability commands
without implications regarding scope or resources. to strengthen the troops.
The land domain will assume the pilot function for
supporting other domains with these capabilities. Maritime domain
The Army will establish a Land Warfare Centre for the We will strengthen the Navy’s command and control
purpose of pooling responsibilities and competencies capability by achieving full operational and materiel
22 KEY ELEMENTS KEY ELEMENTS 23readiness of the German Maritime Forces Staff and by to the further development of military intelligence.
improving the ability to plan and command national The cyber and information domain will intensify its
and multinational maritime exercises and operations. cooperation with the Federal Office for Information
In addition, the German Navy is preparing to assume Security and, pursuing an interagency approach, with
a special responsibility for the Baltic Sea area once it the National Cyber Response Centre in keeping with
assumes the Baltic Maritime Coordination Function. Germany’s cyber security strategy.
The Navy will establish a Maritime Warfare Centre for The cyber and information domain will streamline
the purpose of pooling responsibilities and compe- its structures by reducing them to one decision-
tencies focussing on the areas of concepts and further making level and one implementation level and
development of operational capabilities. Possible reinvesting vacant posts to cater to specialist
integration of the Naval Arsenal and the Naval Support tasks. Command and decision-making levels will
Photo: Bundeswehr/Martina Pump
Command with other elements in a “system house” for be pooled in the German Cyber and Information
the maritime domain-based coordination of compe- Domain Service Headquarters. Furthermore, as an
tencies and responsibilities with the aim of sustainably element of military intelligence for the strategic and
increasing the operational and materiel readiness is operational levels, the Joint Intelligence Centre will
being reviewed. be placed under the administrative control of the
Chief of the Cyber and Information Domain Service.
Cyber and information domain In addition, the cyber and information domain will
We will strengthen the capabilities for the plan- establish a Cyber and Information Domain Warfare
ning and conduct of operations in the cyber and Centre for the purpose of pooling responsibilities
information domain and take a holistic approach and competencies in the areas of concepts and
further development. This will be combined with sponsibility for health care within the area of respon-
other elements to form a “system house” for the sibility of the Federal Ministry of Defence and for the
cyber and information domain-based coordination of Bundeswehr Medical Service within the scope of the
competencies and responsibilities, i.e. a Bundeswehr special functional area.
Centre for Digitalisation. The Surgeon General’s responsibilities will include:
Photo: Bundeswehr/Patrick Grüterich
• Strategic management of health care and
Bundeswehr health care operational medical support across domain com-
Health is a key element of operational readiness and mands and agencies
of Bundeswehr personnel welfare. The successful • Providing direct expert advice to the executive
development of the Bundeswehr Medical Service group and the Commander in Chief of the Armed
must be continued. For this reason, turning the Forces
Surgeon General of the Bundeswehr into a role within • Representation with regard to health issues in
the Federal Ministry of Defence will highlight the interagency processes
prominent position of Bundeswehr health care. The • Medical management/functional control, for
Bundeswehr Health Care Headquarters will be newly instance when dealing with health situations (e.g.
established at the next subordinate level. The Surgeon pandemics, bioterrorism, etc.) as well as with regard
General of the Bundeswehr will assume technical re- to security issues related to health (global health)
24 25• Medical Service personnel careers and Medical • The Armed Forces Office and
Photo: Bundeswehr/Maximilian Schulz
Service competence development in the Bundes- • The Multinational Joint Headquarters Ulm.
wehr and The evaluation of the Armed Forces Office will be
• çdical materiel specific to the Medical Service. carried out taking into account the transfer of tasks
Within the scope of examinations regarding from the Federal Ministry of Defence. It should be
procurement and in-service support, potential examined whether the Armed Forces Office could
assignment of responsibilities in the context of assume additional administrative tasks with regard
procurement of specific medical materiel will also to resources, functionality and command and con-
be considered. trol span as well as whether the Armed Forces Office
The objectives are to improve the overall provision of should be transformed into a newly established Bun-
medical services for fully operational forces, raise the deswehr Office, if necessary.
standard of professional excellence and further pursue In light of the range of the aforementioned joint
the path toward intensive cooperation with the civilian elements and with regard to their specific tasks and
health care system in order to meet future health care functions for the armed forces, the different options
challenges. for possible command relationships and positions
In the medium and long term, we will continue to within the administrative structures will also be
enhance the multinational cooperation of medical examined. This includes combining them into one
specialist services in Europe and NATO that was support section or establishing separate central armed
initiated with the establishment of the European forces agencies. The future assignment of the Ger-
Medical Command/Multinational Medical Coordina- man Military Representative (DEU MILREP) to the
tion Centre. NATO and EU military committees and the position
of the Federal Academy for Security Policy within the
Joint elements administrative structures will also be examined in this
The joint elements are: context.
• The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College
• The Leadership Development and Civic Education 3. Operational and materiel readiness of the
Centre and armed forces
• The Bundeswehr Office for Defence Planning.
The future position of the Federal Office of the The equal weight given to the tasks of national and
Bundeswehr for Military Aviation within the collective defence and the lessons we have learned
administrative structure will be examined in the from our involvement in NATO readiness forces in
context of detailed planning of the system for the recent years have shown that we can no longer think
air domain-based coordination of competencies and of operational and materiel readiness in terms of
responsibilities (see above). contingents alone and we can no longer measure
A ministerial evaluation will focus on future roles and weapons systems solely in terms of the percentages
tasks as well as the position within the administrative of material stockpiles. Both are a biased perspective
structure of: and can lead to a misperception of the overall opera-
• The Bundeswehr Logistics Command tional and materiel readiness of the Bundeswehr.
26 KEY ELEMENTS KEY ELEMENTS 27The yardstick for the operational and materiel readi- 4. Procurement and in-service support
ness of the Bundeswehr is its capability to accomplish
its mission. For this reason, a new reporting system An effective and efficient procurement organisation
will be established in order to inform parliament in a is vitally important for the materiel readiness of the
transparent fashion. Bundeswehr. It fulfils a variety of different tasks –
Our armed forces as an entirety must be ready for from developing future technologies and managing
action; they can, however, be available after diffe- complex armaments projects to fulfilling the daily
rent lead times. In this context, the armed forces requirements of the forces.
Photo: Bundeswehr/Marcel Kröncke
must be considered as a whole. To that effect, the Because of this, it has a complex structure in terms of
amount of operationally ready and available forces organisation, subject matter, and processes. For this
must be increased. The declared objective is to fully reason, the 2018 coalition agreement called for a com-
equip the forces with modern materiel. Until then, prehensive review of the procurement organisation. A
however, our units must be operationally ready with working group involving the Bundestag has developed
the equipment at their disposal. proposals. In order to implement these proposals, a
The Chief of Defence will issue an annual strategic working group entitled “Implementation Procurement
directive looking several years ahead as a guideline for Organisation” has been established in the Ministry’s
establishing and maintaining operational and materiel area of responsibility.
readiness and for resource prioritisation. Through the intense and focused work of the mem-
bers of this working group, 58 different measures
Operational and materiel readiness system have been implemented and noticeable progress has
To realise these goals, a new system will be estab- been made in the optimisation of the procurement
lished to ensure the improvement of operational and organisation and the Federal Office of Bundeswehr
materiel readiness. Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service
The new operational and materiel readiness system Support. We will continue to build on this progress
will synchronise tasks, materiel and personnel as well and remain committed to optimising processes and
as training and exercises. This requires the effective structures.
control of phases of uptime and downtime for person- The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Infor-
nel and materiel in a three-part cycle that consid- mation Technology and In-Service Support with its
ers the special features and dependencies of each agencies is the central management organisation and
domain: knowledge carrier in the Bundeswehr when it comes
• Deployment phase: deployment is possible with a to the development and procurement of operationally
lead time of 7 to 30 days viable defence materiel. It was assigned materiel
• Heightened operational and materiel readiness responsibility for operational viability and the tasks of
phase: lead time of 30 to 90 days in-service support in 2012. It is also responsible for
Basic phase: regeneration and limited availability with central tasks that ensure the operational and materiel
a lead time between 90 and 360 days. readiness of weapon systems and products.
28 KEY ELEMENTS KEY ELEMENTS 29This increase in responsibilities has led to an imbal- Optimisation of the procurement and in-service
ance between tasks, personnel resources, and author- support organisation
ity which has not been resolved in recent years. As The key to optimisation is appropriate decision-
well, many additional interfaces were created as making bodies involving all stakeholders (strategic
in-service support and supply responsibility remained planning board) that make binding decisions at an
with the Services. early date in the procurement process on what is
The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Infor- required and how it should be procured. To prepare
mation Technology and In-Service Support will focus these decisions, cooperation between the responsible
Photo: Bundeswehr/Benjamin Lihring
on its core tasks, i.e. the development, procurement, directorates in the Ministry, the Bundeswehr Planning
and further development of defence materiel for the Office, the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment,
Bundeswehr and the management of armaments Information Technology and In-Service Support, and
projects. the domain commands must be intensified during this
How and when tasks of in-service support and the phase.
resources associated with them can be taken over by The relevant aspects (technical, legal, economic, risks,
other organisational elements must be determined. and market situation) must be considered at this early
The aim is to pool tasks, personnel, and resources as stage and with all stakeholders and must be evalu-
well as available expertise. This will strengthen the ated in the process of selecting a procurement option.
responsibility of in-service and supply managers in the Owing to available financial and personnel resources,
domains. The special nature of each domain will be we will make greater use of purchases and complex
considered and new procedures and organisations will services as procurement options in addition to the
be explored. current “Customer Product Management” (CPM).
The efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal The comprehensive digitalisation of the procurement
Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information and in-service support processes plays a vital role in
Technology and In-Service Support must be this context and therefore has priority. This includes
ensured and, in the long term, increased. In order the harmonisation and automation of processes as
to enhance the operational and materiel readiness well as continuous data and information management.
of the armed forces for scenarios of national and This supports a common and comprehensive situation
collective defence, we must improve the balance picture and improves process control through readily
between tasks, personnel and assets, including available and qualitatively sound information at all
processes and their interfaces. The Implementation process stages.
Procurement Organisation working group has laid The procurement organisation outside the Federal
the foundations, and we must now build on these Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Tech-
foundations to achieve our goal. nology and In-Service Support will be strengthened
In addition, the parameter of operational and and equipped with the resources it needs to accom-
materiel readiness, i.e. concrete data on the plish its tasks effectively and efficiently.
material readiness of individual systems, must be At the same time, we will expand the “Bundeswehr
given more consideration when decisions Purchasing” procurement option as an independent
on armaments projects are made. pillar of Bundeswehr procurement and will make it an
30 KEY ELEMENTS KEY ELEMENTS 31“in-house” service provider for the Bundeswehr and crisis operations. To this end, we must respond to the
the Ministry effects of the organisational and structural adapta-
In this context, the Bundeswehr Service Centres will tions of the armed forces to the regional structures
play an important role as competent local service of the federal defence administration and to optimise
partners for the forces. We will quickly and consis- working relationships. We must consider strength-
tently use the potential of automation and digitalisa- ening the regional and technical structures of (local)
tion for projects such as electronic ordering platforms. organisations as key service providers and first points
The digitalisation of the Bundeswehr – and thus of its of contact for the military.
procurement system – has taken an important step Additionally, we will adapt the internal structures of
forward with the introduction of cluster logic, i.e. the the federal defence administration in such a way that
definition of conceptually coherent subsets with clear they contribute to robustness and agility in crisis situ-
responsibilities. This enables us to keep pace with ations. It is important that we establish robust rela-
the short innovation cycles of modern information tionships with agencies and organisations outside the
technology. We must continue on the path of digitali- Bundeswehr which can support us in such situations
sation and the central provision of IT services for the with the necessary services, personnel, and materiel.
Bundeswehr and must pool the necessary organisa- To this end, we must amend emergency preparedness
tional elements. and emergency control legislation accordingly.
With regard to the complex questions of procure- Procedures and processes in select areas such as per-
ment and in-service support, the Federal Ministry of sonnel management as well as morale, welfare, and
Defence will examine other opportunities for optimi- support must be further modernised, made more effi-
sation. At the same time, we must explore whether cient and accelerated in order to ensure better, more
public procurement law will allow us to realise flexible, and situation-appropriate mission accom-
complex military procurement projects faster, more plishment and to strengthen social security.
Photo: Bundeswehr/Sebastian Wilke
cost-effectively, and in line with the requirements of
Foto: Bundeswehr/Dirk Dehmel
the Bundeswehr. Infrastructure
The enormous infrastructure requirements of the
5. Federal defence administration Bundeswehr call for a further acceleration of the cum-
bersome process of providing and maintaining infra-
Defence administration structures must also be effi- structure. Where acceleration is necessary, we must
cient, effective, robust, and able to exercise command concentrate financial and executive responsibilities in
and control in critical situations up to and including our own area of responsibility, at least for particularly
national and collective defence. As in the armed relevant Bundeswehr building projects, in order to
forces, we will take corrective action wherever top- exert control over infrastructure processes in these
heavy structures have emerged which have created cases. This will help disentangle responsibilities and
unclear responsibilities. will strengthen the Bundeswehr as a result. Interfaces
Tasks, powers, and responsibility must be structured will be minimised, and the planning and control of
in such a way that they form a clearly defined unit procedures will be better aligned. To this end, studies
and allow rapid transitions between peacetime and must be conducted and legal foundations laid.
32 KEY ELEMENTS KEY ELEMENTS 33Personnel service in the Bundeswehr more attractive.
The target strength of the Bundeswehr will remain
unchanged. This will confront us with major challen- Sustainability and climate protection
ges in the future. Personnel development must be The concept for a sustainability and climate protec-
enhanced and made fit for the future so that we can tion strategy in the FMoD area of responsibility that
recruit new and retain current personnel. is currently being produced is the next important step
If the Bundeswehr is to remain attractive as an em- toward achieving the federal government’s climate
ployer, we must have faster and more agile recruit- goals. These goals are enshrined in the current Federal
ment procedures and proactive and flexible personnel Climate Change Act, the most important being Ger-
management that is geared, as far as possible, towards man climate neutrality by 2045 and a climate-neutral
the individual interests of personnel. federal administration by 2030.
Education and qualification will play an important The planned strategy will identify the specific goals
role in the future. The potential in this area must be and necessary measures to implement sustainability
utilised more consistently for the Bundeswehr and its and climate protection in the FMoD area of respon-
personnel. For this reason, special attention must be sibility while ensuring the operational and materiel
paid to education. A special focus will be placed on the readiness of the armed forces. At the same time, the
Bundeswehr schools of general vocational education. initiated measures – some of which have already been
Measures that will make personnel development implemented successfully – will be continued and
fit for the future include: the introduction of a new systematically expanded (examples include the report
military performance evaluation system, the further of the expert group for mobile energy systems in the
development of the procedure to assess officers’ strategic industry dialogue, the pilot projects initiated
prospects and the career prospect conference system in the context of “green barracks” and the ongoing ini-
as a whole, and the continued development of the tiative to expand the charging station infrastructure).
personnel development concepts for civil servants and The overarching sustainability goals affect several ele-
employees specifically geared toward the needs of ments of the FMoD area of responsibility. The greatest
Photo: Bundeswehr/Jonas Weber
personnel. challenges will arise with regard to infrastructure and
In the context of modern, attractive, forward-looking mobility.
and agile personnel management, personnel develop- Additional measures will be continuously developed
ment is geared, as far as possible, toward the indi- in line with the strategy in order to facilitate the
vidual interests of personnel. The intention is to set implementation of the comprehensive transformation
the course toward successful fulfilment of personnel process toward climate-neutral armed forces and a
requirements by means of proactive and early intro- climate-neutral Bundeswehr.
duction of personnel considerations into change
processes. This is combined with targeted recruitment 6. The Federal Ministry of Defence
and reliable, modern personnel management. Indi-
vidual life phases are to be taken into consideration Structures and processes in the FMoD area of respon-
appropriately wherever possible and to an even sibility must be clear and compatible at the national
greater extent than before to contribute to making and international levels. In line with the reduction of
34 KEY ELEMENTS KEY ELEMENTS 35Photo: Bundeswehr/Andrea Bienert
importance of national key technologies for security responsibilities of the Armed Forces Office.
policy and the strategic orientation of the German
government with regard to enterprises that are relevant 7. Strategic capacity
to security, this area of work will become more impor-
tant in the FMoD as well. Strengthening the FMoD’s analysis capacity
The Federal Ministry of Defence is to focus on its The coalition agreement for the 19th legislative
essential ministerial tasks, systematically streamline period provides for a significant improvement of
the leadership structures of the ministry, reduce Germany’s strategic capacity. Security-relevant
top-heaviness and make distances shorter. In doing trends must be recognised and analysed earlier,
so, high-value resources can be made available for the conclusions drawn from this must be put into
troops. a greater context, and our own efforts must be
In order to facilitate this streamlining process, to sup- planned in the longer term. To this end, political
port the ministry in its work and to assign responsibility analyses, research findings, situation pictures and
where it belongs, tasks must be transferred to other background information from external and internal
elements. In this context we must investigate which sources must be combined to create an integrated
tasks can be performed by existing elements and to assessment. Recommendations for action on secu-
what extent new elements, e.g. a Bundeswehr Office, rity and defence policy matters are to be supplied
may need to be established. This will also happen in to the ministry’s executive group on a more direct
conjunction with the examination of the future role and path. The steps that the FMoD has already taken to
top-heavy organisational structures in the Bundeswehr plex crises of our times and on the basis of a
and the decentralisation of the defence administration, real-time situation picture.
during the next legislative period, the ministry should The growing demands on Germany and the Bundes-
also be streamlined and downsized to match its core wehr based on their roles require a clearer representa-
tasks. tion of the strategic leadership level to coordinate and
Personnel made available over the course of this control the armed forces in the FMoD.
process will be used to augment subordinate elements. The further development of the ministry during the
These changes are geared toward the need for clear upcoming legislative period must take into consid-
competencies and areas of responsibility. eration completed evaluations and finalised decisions
The FMoD must continue to perform the following related to the detailed planning of the armed forces
core tasks: and subordinate structures. In addition to the general
• As the ministry responsible for the Bundeswehr as focus on specific ministerial tasks, the focus will be on Photo: Bundeswehr/Jana Neumann
a parliamentary army, recognise the special coop- improving the strategic command and control capa-
eration relationship with the Bundestag bility to coordinate and control the armed forces in
• Exercise the necessary functional supervision over peacetime and in crises.
the numerous and diverse activities of subordinate As the executive group’s first step toward fostering a
agencies and, above all strategic industrial policy, State Secretary Mr Zimmer
• Allow the Federal Minister of Defence to com- last year established the Staff for the Strategic Manage-
mand and control the Bundeswehr in the com- ment of Armaments Activities. Given the growing
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