Germany plans to award nearly €83 billion in defence contracts over the next year, with only about 8 percent earmarked for American weapons.

The procurement list, prepared for the Bundestag’s budget committee, covers 154 major programmes slated for sign-off between September 2025 and December 2026, all above Germany’s €25 million parliamentary approval threshold.

The largest US-led items are roughly €5.1 billion for Raytheon’s Patriot air-defence missiles and launchers and about €150 million for torpedoes tied to Boeing’s P-8A maritime patrol aircraft. Additional US purchases include AMRAAM and ESSM missiles and radio packages, bringing the total US share to around €6.8 billion.

Most spending steers to European industry. A €26 billion F-127 frigate programme, to be designed by Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, tops the list. The Eurofighter Tranche 5, built by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo, is slated for €4 billion in new aircraft and €1.9 billion in radar upgrades, while the army would receive €3.4 billion for Boxer armoured vehicles from Rheinmetall and KNDS and €3.8 billion for a new wheeled tank destroyer.

Modernisation spans air and missile defence and strike capabilities: €2.3 billion to upgrade Taurus cruise missiles, more than €300 million for additional IRIS-T SLM units, €755 million for ship-launched interceptors, and €490 million for short-range systems. Berlin also sets aside €196 million for the Eurodrone’s “detect and avoid” technology and €1.7 billion to upgrade F-123 frigates, alongside numerous smaller contracts for ships, trucks, drones and ammunition.

The tilt marks a shift from 2020–2024, when Germany approved over $17 billion in US foreign military sales, including a 2023 peak after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While US President Donald Trump has urged Europe to purchase more American kit and hailed an EU pledge to increase such procurement, national capitals control defence spending—and Berlin’s plan points mainly to European suppliers.

Source: Politico.