Thread by @gloefflmann

Three Takeaways from this article:
1) after the arduous process surrounding German weapons deliveries, export permits by German manufacturers and wishes by Kyiv are now granted pretty much ‘automatically’. Sending Leopard 2s was the final breakthrough. spiegel.de/politik/deutsc…

2) Germany is calculating with a long war in Ukraine and has accepted the need for continued long term support of the Ukrainian military with artillery, tanks, air defence, ammunition, armoured vehicles, drones, etc. Berlin is in it for the long haul.
3) German defence industry

is a vital component in the Western support of Ukraine and a backbone of European security. Increasing manufacturing capacities for the production of ammunition, artillery systems, new MBTs, etc. is a strategic and political priority and supported by the government.
#Zeitenwende

Herein emerges I think a larger picture. While Germany since 1990 has been a status quo power par excellence, the shock of the RUS invasion of UKR should not be underestimated. Yes, Germany was slow to react to the new strategic environment, some weapons arrived too slowly and

with terrible communication, but step by step Berlin accepted a new security reality in Europe and subsequently a new role for Germany in security and defence policy. And, once Germany has embarked on a new strategic course the German tendency to ‘do it right’ means that we are

now seeing the first real material consequences of the #Zeitenwende taking shape: new Chinook heavy lift helicopters, Leopard 2A8, and Puma IFVs for the Bundeswehr, a new substantial weapons package for Ukraine, the largest thus far, a new Defense minister determined to install

a new mindset of speed and efficacy over process perfection and legalism in the procurement process. These are encouraging signs and they hint at the #Zeitenwende being more than rhetoric. Germany moves slow, but once it’s in motion, it keeps going.

The most surprising outcome of this may be the rising fortunes of the German defense industrial sector, for decades the unloved ‘Schmuddelkind’ of the German economy. Rheinmetall and Co. were all but politically shunned by Berlin and often criticised in the media over weapons

exports, for example, into the Middle East. Now German manufacturers not only enjoy record profits curtesy of increased German Defense expenditures and deliveries to Ukraine, their political status and standing in public opinion has seen a pretty dramatic turnaround. From dealers

of death to arsenal of democracy. There is a dawning realisation that a functioning defense industrial base and the ready availability of resources and technologies is a vital foundation for national security and political sovereignty. We’ve moved from moralist distaste to

to realpolitik acceptance. All in all, there is a lot moving in the right direction it seems.

The aforementioned points, strengthening the Bundeswehr, continued military support of Ukraine, and the strengthening of Germany’s defense industrial base, we also raise in greater detail in our new book on German defense policy and national security after the #Zeitenwende: