A new communication and command system being developed for the German land forces as part of the multi-billion dollar D-LBO project has proven ineffective and poses a “danger to the lives and health“ of the troops.
This is the conclusion of a classified test report, Welt reports.
The publication calls it “IT disaster worth billions“. Instead of modernization, the armed forces are facing the failure of already funded developments.
The “Digitalization of Land Operations“ (D-LBO) project aims to create a digital command system for the German army. The plan is to digitize over 10,000 combat vehicles by 2030.
Key contracts include an IT systems integration agreement worth €1.2 billion and a contract for the TaWAN LBO tactical broadband network worth approximately €1.9 billion.
Operational tests, the second of which was terminated at the end of 2025 due to errors, revealed that:
Communications were unstable or did not function at all. There was no guarantee that the command for an immediate ceasefire would be transmitted reliably, potentially putting the lives of soldiers at risk.
Voice messages were intermittent (gurgling, noise), the range was significantly shorter than necessary - less than 10 km., and parallel transmission of data and voice was almost impossible.
The friendly team tracking system, designed to avoid shelling of allies, was practically non-functional ("operational capabilities were only sporadic", the report states).
The document also explicitly states that the use of the system poses a "threat to the life and health" of soldiers.
This is how the version tested in November was characterized. The report states that serious shortcomings were found even during routine training and exercises with converted main battle tanks.
“In its current state, the entire D-LBO basic system is not ready for either operational testing or training and exercises. Achieving operational readiness by September 2026 is currently not possible“, the report states.
The report was ready by January, but, as Welt notes, the German Defense Ministry concealed its contents from members of the German parliament. The document is classified “for official use only“.
In response to a request from Welt, the German Defense Ministry declined to comment on the system's shortcomings or its latest improvements. The ministry said it would provide an update on the development progress soon. The ministry has done this before, citing the possibility of drawing conclusions about the existing or missing capabilities of the army by analyzing the report.
The modernization of the digital radio system is one part of the D-LBO project, which covers not only voice communications, but also data exchange and digital command and control systems for the ground forces as a whole, Welt explains. The project aims to connect soldiers, vehicles and command posts in a single communications network. The Bundeswehr currently needs to equip tens of thousands of vehicles with the necessary digital solutions, the publication writes.