The readiness dashboard
People, equipment, structure and time. A status board of the main modernisation programmes, with the stage each had reached by October 2026.
Status key: Delivered Under way Planned
A Personnel
The hardest problem: people
For years the Bundeswehr struggled to grow beyond about 180,000 active soldiers. NATO’s new capability targets require far more. Personnel is the area where Pistorius has invested most political capital.
Active soldiers: today and the 2035 target
Under way~182k → 255–270k by 2035
The military service law sets a growth corridor for every year from 2026 (186,000–190,000) to 2035 (255,000–270,000). If targets are missed, the Bundestag can decide on a needs-based draft.
Military Service Modernisation Act; coalition agreement of 13 November 2025
Reserve
Planned200k
Target number of reservists, which together with active forces would bring total strength to around 460,000.
Federal Ministry of Defence
New military service
In force1 Jan2026
Passed by the Bundestag on 5 December 2025 (323 votes in favour) and the Bundesrat on 19 December 2025.
German Bundestag; Bundesrat
Questionnaires & screening
Under way2008cohort first
All 18-year-olds receive a questionnaire; for men, answering and a medical screening are mandatory, phased in as screening capacity is built up. For women both are voluntary.
Federal Ministry of Defence
Recruits per year
Planned40kby 2031
The ministry expects up to 40,000 new military service recruits a year by 2031. Volunteers receive about €2,600 gross a month.
Federal Ministry of Defence, as reported by Der Tagesspiegel
B Equipment
Air defence, aircraft, armour and drones
The war in Ukraine has shown the value of layered air defence, mass-produced drones and deep ammunition stocks. German procurement since 2022 reflects all three.
Arrow 3 missile defence
Initial capability3 Dec2025
Contract with Israel signed on 28 September 2023. Germany declared initial operational capability at Holzdorf/Schönewalde air base, south of Berlin, the first deployment of the system in Europe. It intercepts long-range ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. Pistorius described it as adding the “outermost layer” of German air defence; further batteries are planned.
Federal Ministry of Defence; Defense News
F-35A combat aircraft
Delivering35jets
Ordered in 2022 to replace the ageing Tornado, including in NATO’s nuclear sharing role. In September 2026 Pistorius visited Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, where the first German aircraft are being delivered.
Federal Ministry of Defence
Drone regiment
From 20271st
Announced at the Bergen training area on 4 October 2026: the army’s first drone regiment, under the 10th Armoured Division, with companies for strike, reconnaissance, counter-drone and electronic warfare.
Bundeswehr; Stars and Stripes
Main battle tanks
OrderedLeopard 2A8
New Leopard 2A8 tanks were ordered to replace those sent to Ukraine and to equip new units. Pistorius has called the type a “high-tech” system.
Federal Ministry of Defence; Defense News
Ground-based air defence
Under wayIRIS-T & Patriot
Additional IRIS-T SLM and Patriot systems were ordered, partly to replace systems given to Ukraine, within the European Sky Shield Initiative launched in 2022.
Federal Ministry of Defence
C Structure, procurement & readiness
Making the machine work
Structure
One Operational Command
The Osnabrück Decree of April 2024 merged the operations and territorial commands into a single Operational Command (from 1 October 2024) and made cyber and information space a fourth branch of service.
Procurement
Faster buying
Procurement rules have been loosened repeatedly since 2022, including a further acceleration law approved by the cabinet in 2025. In September 2026 Pistorius said he was open to new procedures, including closer parliamentary oversight of large programmes.
Readiness
NATO commitments
The guiding goal is a force able to fight from day one under NATO’s new force model. The Lithuania brigade, with about 5,000 personnel, is to be fully operational by the end of 2027.
Infrastructure
Barracks and depots
A growing army needs accommodation, training areas, ammunition storage and ports. Infrastructure spending also counts toward NATO’s 1.5% resilience target.
Innovation
Research and start-ups
The 2027 budget request includes the first dedicated programme funding defence research at civilian universities, in fields such as artificial intelligence and unmanned systems.
Logistics
Ammunition and spares
Deliveries to Ukraine exposed thin stockpiles. Long-term framework contracts with industry for artillery ammunition were intended to give manufacturers the certainty to expand production.
D Assessment
Progress and its critics
Progress cited by the ministry and supporters
- Budgets rising every year since 2024, with a record request for 2027
- A military service law passed after decades of stalemate
- Arrow 3 operational within about two years of signature
- A permanent combat brigade on NATO’s eastern flank
Concerns raised by critics
- Annual reports of the Armed Forces Commissioner continued to describe shortages of equipment and personnel
- Greens, the Left and the AfD opposed the 2027 spending plan, citing affordability and transparency
- Major European programmes, such as the Franco-German future tank, have been slow to agree
- Recruitment numbers remain the critical, unproven variable