The German Defense Ministry rejected criticism today that its strategy of investing more in tanks and ships instead of drones, artificial intelligence and robotics is outdated, DPA reported, BTA reported.
Moritz Schulerik, president of the Kiel Institute for World Economics, called on the ministry to invest in modern weapons systems rather than spending 700 billion euros on outdated technologies.
"We have a lot of capital, a lot of industrial skills and in some areas I still have quite advanced technologies," said Schulerik in an article published yesterday in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" newspaper.
"What we don't have are hundreds of thousands of people who want to sit in the tanks and drive to the front. This means that instead of more soldiers, more manned aircraft and more barracks, we should, where possible, rely on artificial intelligence, robotics, drones and satellite technology," explains Shularik.
In response, the defense ministry said that the arguments had been heard, but not on substance.
The German army must be ready for a possible attack by 2029, a ministry spokesman said today, noting that not all the latest innovations would be implemented by then.
The spokesman also said that the army was acquiring modern weapons systems, such as F-35 stealth fighters.
"This is high-tech warfare in the digital age," the spokesman said, pointing out that 20 billion euros were going to digitalization alone. the armed forces, and 35 billion euros are earmarked for military infrastructure in space. Billions of euros are also earmarked for kamikaze drones.