HENSOLDT AG 
According to participants, the budget committee approved the project worth around 1.3 billion euros on Thursday. According to the procurement bill presented to Reuters, the contract initially includes the development and delivery of a test system.
The Federal Audit Office had criticized that the estimated costs had increased fivefold. There was therefore a risk that the money would be sufficient for development, but not for better equipment. In a so-called resolution, the committee therefore obliged the Ministry of Defense to present a status report on financing by 1 September 2024 so that sufficient funds would be available and the Bundeswehr would be better equipped.
"With the additional air defense system, we are equipping the Bundeswehr with another capability that it urgently needs in order to better protect its soldiers on the ground," FDP budget minister Karsten Klein told Reuters. "Against the backdrop of the brigade in Lithuania and the findings of the war in Ukraine, this defense system is another building block that will be financed from the special fund." According to Klein, over 68 billion euros have already been committed to the special fund, which is funded by loans. "For 2024, the commitment of almost 100 percent must be achieved," demanded Klein.
The providers of the air defense system are a consortium of the companies Rheinmetall, Diehl Defence and Hensoldt Senors. According to the submission, a contract worth 1.23 billion euros is planned. This would be supplemented at a later date by over 70 million euros for provisions and support services. When planning in March 2020, the Ministry of Defense had assumed 240.6 million euros.
(Report by Holger Hansen, edited by Hans Busemann. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)
