Leaner, faster, better. Germany's defense minister is under pressure to show that he can succeed where his predecessors have failed: Cut bureaucracy, and turn the Bundeswehr into a serious fighting force.
EDnews informs via Euronews that turning a battleship, as the saying goes, takes time. For the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces, it can take even longer.
From delivering advanced weapons to putting socks on soldiers' feet, the military is infamous for costly and hamstrung procurement. Boris Pistorius, who stepped into the role as defense minister earlier this year, has said changing that is his top priority.
"More than anything, this is about speeding up procurement for the Bundeswehr," he said at a ministry-hosted roundtable with German arms manufacturers earlier this month. "There are gaps to fill."
The comments fit with Pistorius' very public effort to show that he can succeed where his predecessors have failed and make the Bundeswehr a battle-ready fighting force to be reckoned with.