Spiegel: Germany's Defense Ministry faces problems with new helicopters
The Federal Court of Auditors of Germany has sharply criticized the German Defense Ministry over miscalculations in implementing a project to purchase new combat helicopters for the army.
As 1news.az reports, this is written by the magazine Der Spiegel, citing a confidential report intended for the Bundestag (the German parliament).
The document notes that the new light combat helicopters ordered for the Bundeswehr in 2023 will become combat-ready much later than the planned deadline.
According to the Court of Auditors, the implementation of the project is "on a critical path." Moreover, falling behind schedule is not the biggest problem. Because of difficulties with the certification of munitions, the army will receive helicopters that "will be able to fly, but for the foreseeable future will not be able to shoot."
As the magazine notes, Berlin thereby risks failing to fulfill its own obligations to provide NATO with 12 combat-ready light helicopters by 2029 and 72 from 2032. In the publication's assessment, such a scenario is extremely unpleasant for the German government.
