Germany’s rearmament push runs through America
Germany wants a more self-reliant military — but it needs the U.S. for that.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visited the Pentagon to discuss Germany's push for a stronger, self-reliant European military. While Berlin seeks greater independence from the United States, much of its defense spending relies on American companies. Pistorius highlighted Germany's increase in defense spending to $147 billion this year, up 25% from 2025, and almost tripled over the last decade.
The two agreed on a statement of intent for defense-industrial cooperation, including joint production, licensed manufacturing, maintenance hubs, and supply-chain resilience. However, concrete projects, timelines, and investment commitments were not included in the document. Germany is increasingly dependent on U.S. arms-makers, with the F-35 fighter jet, CH-47F Chinook transport helicopters, P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, Patriot air-defense systems, and key technologies for the future F127 air-defense frigate all being produced in the U.S. Germany's rearmament also runs through American production lines, with about $50 billion of defense spending going to U.S. companies.
Despite efforts to reduce dependence on the U.S., Germany remains frustrated by delays in acquiring essential defense systems like the Typhon launcher system and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Pistorius emphasized the need for NATO to become more European in order to stay transatlantic, but he has yet to gain clarity on future U.S. deployments.
Written by urgent.news from Politico EU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
