The Bundeswehr is to strengthen with the establishment of a new tank battalion their ability to defend national and Alliance. The battalion will be stationed in 2019 in Hardheim, Baden-Württemberg, said Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU). In addition, she wants to promote the digitization of the troupe. More than four million euros will be invested in the coming years.
Currently, the Bundeswehr has five tank battalions each with 44 battle tanks of the type Leopard 2. Now a battalion with four companies and a total of about 500 soldiers to come. For this purpose, the Bundeswehr will get in the next few years several hundred new or modernized combat and armored infantry fighting, said von der Leyen. „It’s the first time since reunification that we have a growing troupe again.“
The Bundeswehr had greatly reduced the number of its tanks for years. West Germany alone had more than 70 tank battalions before reunification. After earlier planning the Carl Schurz barracks in Hardheim should be closed. Instead, the Bundeswehr wants to invest about 20 million euros there.
Digitization is the mega-topic of the future, the minister continued. The aim is also to link the various „digital islands“, so that at the touch of a button, a common picture of the troupe. This is also important for the German involvement in the fast spearhead of NATO („Very High Readiness Joint Task Force“) in the years 2019 and 2023.
„Digitalization is not an end in itself – the goal is to be able to lead and work faster and more precisely than your opponent,“ said Heeresinspekteur Lieutenant General Jörg Vollmer. Among other things, this requires complete networking with broadband data and voice highways and algorithmic evaluation and evaluation.
At the Munster site in Lower Saxony, a test and test association with about 50 soldiers and about 60 vehicles will be created. With the new unit, the digitization will be tested. „Each device, each vehicle should be linked to each other, so that the military leadership always has a clear picture of the situation,“ said Vollmer.
