Re: Ülejäänud NATO militaarne areng
Postitatud: 19 Veebr, 2019 12:32
Saksa kaks erukindralit ja õhujõudude juhti võtavad Tornadode vahetuse poliitilise otsuse osas sõna Autorid on:
- Klaus-Peter Stieglitz (Luftwaffe 13. ülem 2004-2009) ja
- Karl Müllner (Luftwaffe 15. ülem 2012-2018)
So what was decisive for the exclusively political decision in Germany?
First, the state of the current federal government, which, according to opinion polls, has not had a majority in the population for months. In particular, the Social Democrats are in a low, in which they shy away from a decision on a new fighter aircraft for the Bundeswehr.
Secondly, the successor decision for the Tornado fleet involves German participation in NATO’s nuclear deterrent, commonly referred to as nuclear sharing. A crucial issue for the security of Germany, but domestic policy in all parties unpopular topic.
Third, whether the Social Democrats hope to win back old voters by expanding the welfare state should not be of interest. The financing of such projects is in direct competition with higher defense spending. Even though Germany is in favor of achieving NATO’s two-percent target, which is still a long way off at 1.24 percent, there is apparently no consensus in the grand coalition to finance a Tornado successor.
Fourth, ideological factors play a role that should not be underestimated. For example, hardly anyone in the grand coalition wants to support the purchase of a US fighter aircraft, even if it offers the best value for money and could be obtained with low risk.
Nobody wants to treat US President Donald Trump as a success right now.
Fifth, France threatens the failure of the politically agreed flagship project of a future Franco-German fighter aircraft in 2040+ if Germany decided to buy American F-35 aircraft. While this threat is hardly substantiated, it has left so much of an impression in Germany that it has had enough impact.
And finally there is the interest of German industry to keep American competition away from the German defense market.
In view of its own weaknesses, to be able to supply the Bundeswehr with the aircraft required for future order fulfillment, competition with a US F-35, which would inevitably be lost, must be avoided at all costs.
The political decision to exclude the F-35 from further consideration in Germany is thus a victory for the German armaments lobby, it weighs heavily for the Bundeswehr.
...
A termination of the NATO-Russia Basic Act and the stationing of nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe could be the result. When deciding on the successor to the Bundeswehr’s Tornado fighter plane, it is not just an important military decision with a European political and industrial significance, but a strategic decision with an impact on the European security order as a whole and Germany’s role as a leading nation.
If Germany sticks with the path it has now taken, it will leave the circle of security leadership nations in the EU and NATO, degrading itself to become a secondary support force.
It is necessary and corresponds to responsible policy for our country to deal with the issue of succession to the tornado of the Bundeswehr once again objectively and with the necessary strategic vision and to revise the decisions taken so far.
The authors are former Chiefs of Staff of the Luftwaffe.