Many primary weapons systems in the Bundeswehr are not available for training exercises or deployment, according to a new Defense Ministry study.

The "Report on the Operational Readiness of the Bundeswehr's Primary Weapons Systems 2017," which has been seen by the Reuters news agency and the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland media group, is set to be presented to Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, on Wednesday.

Read more: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen at a crossroads

Number of weapon systems ready for action:

Eurofighter jet airplanes: 39 of 128

Tornado jet airplanes: 26 of 93

CH-53 transport helicopters: 16 of 72

NH-90 transport helicopters: 13 of 58

Tiger helicopters: 12 of 62

A400M transport planes: 3 of 15

Leopard 2 tanks: 105 of 224

Navy frigates: 5 of 13

Read more: German military short on tanks for NATO mission

Germany's NATO missions Germany's role in NATO West Germany officially joined the trans-Atlantic alliance in 1955. However, it wasn't until after reunification in 1990 that the German government considered "out of area" missions led by NATO. From peacekeeping to deterrence, Germany's Bundeswehr has since been deployed in several countries across the globe in defense of its allies.

Germany's NATO missions Bosnia: Germany's first NATO mission In 1995, Germany participated in its first "out of area" NATO mission as part of a UN-mandated peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the deployment, German soldiers joined other NATO member forces to provide security in the wake of the Bosnian War. The peacekeeping mission included more than 60,000 troops from NATO's member states and partners.

Germany's NATO missions Keeping the peace in Kosovo Since the beginning of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, some 8,500 German soldiers have been deployed in the young country. In 1999, NATO launched an air assault against Serbian forces accused of carrying out a brutal crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists and their civilian supporters. Approximately 550 Bundeswehr troops are still stationed in Kosovo.

Germany's NATO missions Patrolling the Aegean Sea In 2016, Germany deployed its combat support ship "Bonn" to lead a NATO mission backed by the EU in the Aegean Sea. The mission included conducting "reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance of illegal crossings" in Greek and Turkish territorial waters at the height of the migration crisis. Germany, Greece and Turkey had requested assistance from the trans-Atlantic alliance.

Germany's NATO missions More than a decade in Afghanistan In 2003, Germany's parliament voted to send Bundeswehr troops to Afghanistan in support of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Germany became the third-largest contributor of troops and led the Regional Command North. More than 50 German troops were killed during the mission. Nearly a thousand soldiers are still deployed in Afghanistan as part of Resolute Support.

Germany's NATO missions German tanks in Lithuania Forming part of NATO's "enhanced forward presence" in the Baltic states, 450 Bundeswehr soldiers have been deployed to Lithuania so far in 2017. The battalion-size battlegroups there are led by Germany, Canada, the UK and US to reinforce collective defense on the alliance's eastern flank. It forms the "biggest reinforcement of Alliance collective defence in a generation," according to NATO.

Germany's NATO missions Taking over the leadership The Bundeswehr is due to take over leadership of NATO's multinational Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) at the start of 2019. The rapid reaction force has been set up to counter potential Russian aggression on the alliance's eastern flank. Author: Lewis Sanders IV



Ukraine's effect

The Defense Ministry said a higher number of training missions and deployments since Russia's intervention in eastern Ukraine in 2014 had caused existing equipment to wear down quicker than it had previously.

The report also did not calculate readiness for each type of weapons system based on the total number of weapons. Instead, it referenced the total number minus weapons under long-term maintenance, modernization or testing.

This calculation resulted in a total of 81 deployable Eurofighters rather than 128, leading to a higher ratio of airplanes available for deployment.

Read more: 'No more missions for Germany's navy,' warns armed forces ombudsman

Some improvement

The report found however that the readiness for most weapon types had improved. Around 550 more weapons were available in 2017 for deployment compared to 2014.

Readiness for weapons used in active foreign missions was also higher than average, the Ministry said.

Based on these figures, it said that Germany could fulfill its obligations to the NATO alliance, including the rapid deployment force Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).

Read more: Germany's Bundeswehr 'lacks basic equipment' for NATO mission

Defense Minister defends record

Defense Minister von der Leyen of Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) defended the Bundeswehr's progress in an interview with the Bavarian daily newspaper Passauer Neue Presse on Tuesday.

"We cannot make up for the years of reductions and cuts over 25 years," she said, adding that the Bundeswehr's €200 billion ($250 billion) modernization program had been "a long and arduous path," but that the government would remain committed to it.

Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) agreed to set aside €10 billion for the Bundeswehr in a coalition deal, which is still pending approval. The pact also accords the military "priority" along with international development if more money becomes available in the federal budget in the future.

Read more: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen calls to extend Bundeswehr deployment abroad

Greens see red

The budgetary and defense spokesman for the Greens, Tobias Lindner, accused Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen of failing to remedy a serious problem.

"A lot of engagements and training exercises understandably put strain on the Bundeswehr, but the military must react proactively and not just look on helplessly at how its equipment breaks down," he said.

The Defense Ministry's report comes after the Bundestag's military commissioner, Hans-Peter Bartels, complained about "large holes in personnel and equipment" in the Bundeswehr in a separate paper published in mid-February.

The Bundeswehr can only use three of a total of 15 A400M transport planes

amp/kms (Reuters, AFP, dpa, KNA)