German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has declared that Germany must have a stronger army than Britain, committing to spend five per cent of annual GDP on defence.
In his first major address to the German parliament, Merz said: "We must make all the means available that the Bundeswehr needs so that it can become the strongest conventional army in Europe."
The Chancellor's comments suggest Germany now hopes to eclipse the leading armies of Europe: Britain, Poland and France.
The Bundeswehr currently consists of about 180,000 regular soldiers, considerably more than the British Armed Forces' total of more than 135,000 regular troops.
Germany's chancellor Friedrich Merz has declared that Germany must have a stronger army than Britain, committing to spend 5 per cent of annual GDP on defence
Getty
Germany also has 296 battle tanks, exceeding Britain's stockpile of 213 tanks, of which under 150 are believed to be in serviceable condition.
Germany overtook the UK in military spending in 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
However, experts still consider the British Army's level of combat experience and quality of training to be superior to Germany's.
Unlike Britain, Germany has no nuclear weapons programme, though it hosts an estimated 20 US nuclear missiles at military bases without control over them.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Germany has vowed to become a major European security power in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Getty
The UK's surface fleet has 52 warships compared to Germany's 30-40, and nine submarines to Germany's six.
Merz has scrapped Germany's strict borrowing limits on the defence sector, with projects costing more than 1 per cent of GDP now eligible for unlimited funding.
His government is also considering a return to conscription, abandoned in 2011, if a new voluntary military service scheme fails to attract enough recruits.
Germany has vowed to become a major European security power in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, requiring massive reinvestment in the Bundeswehr.
Merz has scrapped Germany's strict borrowing limits on the defence sector
Getty
Johann Wadephul, Merz's foreign minister, said Berlin was ready to commit to spending 5 per cent of annual GDP on defence as demanded by Donald Trump, the US president.
Some German officials fear the country is not psychologically prepared for war.
Former president Joachim Gauck suggested Germans were "too mentally weak to cope with warfare" after decades of peace.
Germany and Britain have announced a new joint project to develop long-range missiles.
