Germany’s Renewed Commitment to NATO By David Oliver
The A400M tactical transport is one of the Luftwaffe’s aircraft that suffers from low serviceability. © David Oliver
At one of the first press conference after his election, Germany’s new Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized these goals. “The trans-Atlantic relationship and our cooperation as part of NATO remain steadfast,” he said. “We commit to a community of democracies across the globe and I am very grateful to President Biden for emphasizing the importance of multilateralism and, at the same time, we are committed to what unites particular nations: the idea of freedom, the rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights.” However, in recent years the Luftwaffe’s fleet of A400M transport planes were unavailable for deployment due to repairs, and other equipment including fighter jets, tanks and ships, was outdated and in some cases not fully operational because of bad planning or shortage of spare parts and maintenance problems. Also some air force pilots were unable to train because too many aircraft were being updated or repaired.
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EDR | July/August 2022
