Germany’s €80B defense shopping list leaves little room for US weapons

BERLIN — Germany’s new military procurement plan, obtained by POLITICO, shows that Berlin will steer its massive rearmament drive primarily to European industry, with only 8 percent going for American weapons.

That’s a blow for Donald Trump, who has been putting pressure on European countries to continue buying U.S. arms despite the geopolitical turmoil emanating from the White House.

The procurement plan shows Germany preparing to push through nearly €83 billion in contracts over the next year. The list, drawn up for the German parliament’s budget committee, details 154 major defense purchases between September 2025 and December 2026. 

Under German law, any contract worth more than €25 million must be submitted to parliament for approval. And in those pages, projects led by American companies appear only in a handful of cases.

The only big-ticket items with American contractors in the lead are about €150 million earmarked for torpedoes attached to Boeing’s P-8A aircraft and roughly €5.1 billion for Raytheon’s MIM-104 Patriot air defense missiles and launchers. 

Counting other U.S.-led buys on the list — from AMRAAM and ESSM missiles to radio packages — the total comes to about €6.8 billion, around 8 percent of Berlin’s plan, with the rest overwhelmingly going to European industry.

Good customer

In recent years, Germany has been one of Washington’s biggest defense buyers. 

According to U.S. government data, Berlin signed off on more than $17 billion in foreign military sales between 2020 and 2024, hitting a $13.9 billion record in 2023, highlighting increased demand following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

That spree briefly made Germany one of the top destinations worldwide for U.S. arms exports alongside Poland and Japan. Now Germany appears to be focusing on European industry.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, European NATO members bought 64 percent of their weapons from the U.S. between 2020 and 2024.

Trump wants that to continue.

After clinching a trade deal with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in July, Trump touted that the EU would buy “vast amounts” of American weapons worth “hundreds of billions.”

The joint statement from that deal went even further, pledging that the EU “plans to substantially increase procurement of military and defense equipment from the United States, with the support and facilitation of the U.S. government.”

But defense spending in Europe isn’t decided in Brussels, it’s decided by national governments. And in Berlin, the numbers are telling a different story.

The most expensive single item is the F-127 frigate program, planned to be designed by German marine giant TKMS. Due before the budget committee in June 2026, its estimated cost runs at €26 billion. The new warships are meant to provide long-range air and missile defense for the navy.

Another centerpiece is the Eurofighter Tranche 5 — built by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo — with €4 billion set to be approved in October 2025 for new aircraft and another €1.9 billion for radar upgrades. Together with further investments in electronic warfare systems and avionics packages, the plan shows Berlin is doubling down on its existing European fighter fleet to bridge production delays for the troubled Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a next-generation fighter that’s supposed to be built by Germany, France and Spain.

The army features prominently as well. More than €3.4 billion is planned for additional Boxer armored vehicles in October, built by Rheinmetall and KNDS. That goes along with €3.8 billion for a new unnamed wheeled tank destroyer.

A few projects on the list, such as a €40 million mobile reconnaissance support system under the title MAUS, come with funding attached but no publicly designated contractor.

Modernization drive 

Politically sensitive programs include a €2.3 billion modernization of the Taurus cruise missile, set to be approved in December. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is under pressure from Kyiv to supply them to Ukraine, but so far German governments have balked at transferring the missiles.

Air defense is another major focus. The plan includes more than €300 million for additional German-built IRIS-T SLM units, €755 million for ship-launched missiles, and €490 million for new short-range air defense missiles. 

One of the more dicey projects on the list is the Eurodrone, with €196 million set aside to develop its “detect and avoid” system — a prerequisite for the drone to fly safely in European airspace. The program, led by Airbus, Dassault and Leonardo, has been plagued by delays and rising costs, yet Berlin is pressing ahead with fresh funding in this budget cycle.

The navy’s share goes beyond the future frigates. Upgrades for Germany’s current F-123 frigates are priced at €1.7 billion, while a package of anti-submarine warfare systems and new torpedoes will add several hundred million euros more.

The document also lists dozens of smaller but still significant contracts: €274 million for a fleet auxiliary vessel and hundreds of millions for new trucks, radios, drones, and ammunition of every caliber. Taken together, they add up to a comprehensive modernization effort touching every branch of the armed forces.