In its penultimate meeting before the parliamentary summer recess, the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag approved four procurement projects for the Bundeswehr, each valued at 25 million euros. This substantial decision underscores Germany’s commitment to modernizing its military capabilities and ensuring the readiness of its forces.
Enhanced Leadership Communication Systems
At the heart of the approved initiatives is the seventh amendment contract for equipping military vehicles with advanced leadership communication devices as part of the D-LBO program. The Bundeswehr is currently outfitting over 10,000 vehicles from the Division 2025 with modern digital communication technology. These systems aim to facilitate secure, encrypted information exchange even in disruptive electromagnetic environments.
The recently approved budget amendment increases the delivery volume and rhythm of the existing agreement, planning for nearly 32,000 additional communication devices in various configurations. Further hand-held communication devices will also be procured for this “digital mixed operation,” a necessary step as the upgrade of the extensive fleet cannot be completed in one go.
The continued existence of vehicles that are already upgraded, those pending upgrade, and some that will not be upgraded due to cost or age means that the armed forces must remain operationally capable and communicate effectively as a cohesive unit. The additional hand-held devices will later be utilized as regular supplementary equipment for the growing number of troops once the full D-LBO system is implemented.
The planned volume of this amendment contract stands at around 2.4 billion euros, with approximately 2 billion euros allocated for equipping new platforms—without incurring additional costs for the total estimated 11.5 billion euro D-LBO armament program.
SCHAKAL – New Armored Personnel Carriers
Another significant initiative discussed in this meeting involves the SCHAKAL armored personnel carrier. The Bundeswehr uses this name for the Boxer RCT30, which combines the chassis of the multipurpose armored vehicle Boxer with the unmanned 30-mm turret from the Puma infantry fighting vehicle. The Budget Committee had approved a baseline procurement of 150 vehicles for the Bundeswehr back in October 2025, amounting to approximately 3.4 billion euros.
Two days after this approval, the European defense agency OCCAR ordered a total of 222 vehicles: 150 for Germany and 72 for the Netherlands—alongside an option for up to 248 more SCHAKAL units, with 200 specifically for the Bundeswehr. This contract represents the initial tranche of that option approved by the Budget Committee today.
The SCHAKAL is set to form the backbone of the newly established Medium Forces of the Army alongside the Luchs 2 reconnaissance vehicle and the RCH 155 self-propelled howitzer, thereby replacing some of the aging Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
Editorial Team
