Germany Worries Rapid Move Away from US Weapons Could Strain Ties with Washington

In brief

• Germany's defence ministry privately warned that rapidly reducing reliance on American weapons could strain ties with Washington.
• The United States supplies more than a third of Germany's major arms imports.
• The warning was prepared before a Bundestag defence committee session on German-American defence cooperation.

Berlin's dilemma over US weapons

Germany's defence ministry has unofficially cautioned that moving too fast to reduce the country's reliance on American weapons could put its relationship with Washington at risk. The warning appears in internal briefing material obtained by Politico.

Heavy dependence on American equipment

According to the briefing, the United States supplies more than a third of Germany's total imports of major weapons systems. Despite that reliance, some officials inside the ministry have grown doubtful about how dependable Washington will remain as a partner.

Risks of publicly distancing

The document argues that an open push away from US suppliers could harm the partnership and cut German industry out of work on American weapons programmes. It notes that Washington views Germany's public drive for autonomy in defence projects critically, and that Berlin cannot shift course sharply without jeopardising the alliance.

Parliamentary context

The material was prepared ahead of a Wednesday session of the Bundestag defence committee, where lawmakers discussed German-American defence cooperation. The debate follows wider European efforts to increase defence spending and buy more equipment at home, including an EU goal for member states to spend at least half of their defence budgets on European procurement by 2030.