While they used to be inseparable and were published together as one report, the Armaments Report and the report on the material readiness of the Bundeswehr's main weapon systems are now published separately, albeit usually at the same time.
The Bundeswehr has a total of 71 main weapon systems. Their clear status, i.e. their availability for training and deployment, and the corresponding development of the figures are documented in the "Report on the material operational readiness of the Bundeswehr's main weapon systems II/2021". This includes twelve systems in the German Navy: In addition to the submarines, corvettes and frigates, the flying systems such as the Helicopter of the naval aviators. We read in the current report II/2021 for the past six months (extract):
The material readiness of all 71 main weapon systems stabilised overall in the reporting period and improved slightly in some areas. At an average of 77 per cent, it is slightly above the 76 per cent from the last report. Our target of 70 per cent average material readiness was exceeded by 38 major weapon systems, while eleven were below 50 per cent (including six legacy systems). The average material readiness of combat vehicles was 71 per cent, for naval combat units 72 per cent, for combat and transport aircraft 65 per cent, for all support vehicles (logistics, medical and CIR) 82 per cent and for helicopters still 40 per cent.
There are still erratic trends, a high degree of dispersion and a shortage of available stock for around a third of the systems. This primarily affects systems with small fleet sizes and "legacy systems" (e.g. the M3 amphibious floating bridge, the SEA KING helicopter or the P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, which will reach the end of its service life in 2025), but also the newly introduced weapon systems such as the NH90 helicopter or the A400M transport aircraft.
Clear stand Marine
In the past reporting period, as a result of postponed and extended shipyard layovers of units, deployments and similar obligations as well as numerous other orders had to be handled without reserves. The resulting strain on the available units leads to increased wear and tear above the technically designed utilisation profile of the ageing systems, which in the short and medium term leads to a further strain on material operational readiness and thus to an increase in maintenance requirements.
The operational scope of action of the Navy is severely limited due to the material availability of the units. This is due to the inadequate capacities of the MArs in maintenance management and the procurement office since 2019, even after the personnel of the Naval Arsenal (MArs) was increased by naval uniform wearers, as well as a still extremely tight spare parts situation. While this has already led to both a delayed start and considerable delays in the completion of shipyard laytime, further procurement law requirements, particularly in the run-up to scheduled shipyard laytime, are currently exacerbating the situation even more drastically in the reporting period. As a result, this development is leading to a decline in the operational availability of major weapon systems and, at the same time, to a considerable backlog of necessary maintenance requirements. Without corrective measures, the MArs can no longer fully fulfil its maintenance mission.
The implementation of medium-term maintenance planning has been impaired by considerable delays caused by the awarding of contracts. The procurement law problems already outlined in the last reports increasingly represent a critical burden not only for maintenance planning but also for deployment planning, which cannot be resolved by the Navy in terms of planning. The structurally precarious maintenance capacities (especially maintenance management and procurement capacities) of the MArs for the floating weapon systems will lead to massive slumps in the provision of deployable forces in the future, which may require prioritisation on the part of the BMVg with regard to the staffing of missions and comparable obligations of the Navy. In addition to the assessment of material operational readiness, it can be stated that currently less than 30 per cent of the afloat main weapon systems are fully operational - reflected in the capability-specific operational tasks for participation in high-intensity operations.
Outlook
The focus of the navy continues to be on balancing the influx of new major weapon systems with the necessary modernisation of existing units. The procurement of the Class 126 frigates and the supplementary procurement of the Class 130 corvettes, together with the renewal of the support units with the Class 707 fuel supply vessels and Class 424 fleet service boats, are key steps towards creating a modern and needs-based fleet. At the same time, however, it is also necessary to maintain the capabilities of the existing fleet in order to ensure the necessary operational availability for the deployment of current missions, operational obligations and prioritised projects/missions. Against this backdrop, the full operational readiness of the Class 125 frigates is of central importance.
[...] With the "Cornerstones for the Bundeswehr of the Future", studies were initiated in the reporting period on the establishment of "system houses" and the possible change in the performance of utilisation tasks, among other things. The Navy is focusing its considerations on the Systemhaus See (SysHSee) on the undivided and responsible assumption of implementation tasks in the IH, including the associated control competence both in the prioritisation of budget implementation and in the preparation of the MatErh financial requirements planning as well as constitutionally compliant procurement competence in the IH. From the Navy's perspective, this also includes the appropriate allocation of resources in the form of the integration of the naval arsenal (MArs) at both locations (Wilhelmshaven and Kiel), as the only service provider for the Navy from maintenance level (IHS) 3 or log level 2 in the sea dimension, into a SysHSee. In addition, the Navy sees the increase in weapon system expertise with a clear focus on contributions to the design and further development of weapon systems in all phases of the IPD/CPM as well as digitalisation as further key conceptual building blocks of SysHSee. The results of IPT 11 BeschO on the reorganisation of use must also be taken into account. The navy's contribution to the objectives of the Operational Readiness 2021 initiative was consistently continued during the reporting period.
The successfully established support of the BAAINBw, which has now also been institutionalised in the process for all branches of the armed forces by means of the processing of project-related topic packages from the BAAINBw by the military organisational areas, was also continued in the reporting period. Thanks to this support, numerous projects such as the supplementary procurement of the class 130 corvettes (K130 2nd batch) and the "Capability maintenance of sea-based signal reconnaissance of the class 424 fleet service boats" could be pursued in a targeted manner, for which the organisational basis or personnel capacities in the BAAINBw were not available to a sufficient extent.
Effects on deployment obligations
During the reporting period, the Navy was able to fulfil the BMVg's priorities and objectives with regard to deployments and mission-equivalent obligations. The navy is working at full capacity with the staffing of current deployments, mission-equivalent obligations and prioritised projects/missions as well as the exercise participation in the exercise series that are important for LV/BV in order to maintain capabilities. In this respect, the material operational readiness and the timely and comprehensive availability of the material/platforms are of mission-critical importance. The navy is already using all identified options to improve operational readiness ("Agenda Utilisation", "Immediate Operational Readiness Programme", "Multi-crew models", "Optimisation of training"). However, measures to improve the "operational readiness" of the Navy's floating and flying systems require a holistic approach across all organisational units, including the resources allocated to the military administration, which must be further intensified and pursued with overriding priority.
An impression
With a current material clarity level of 77 per cent, the overall figure for the Bundeswehr in the period under review is only one percentage point higher than the previous year. Even then, the BMVg had to admit that the pandemic had a measurable impact on this figure: Where training was cancelled due to the pandemic, less material was also worn out.
The report is not old, and yet it could already be politically outdated: The new Minister of Defence, Christine Lambrecht, has already put the "Cornerstones for the Bundeswehr of the Future" initiated by her predecessor on ice, including the examination of the list of "system houses" cited in the report. It cannot be ruled out that the minister will set her own priorities and make use of the available interim results - or not.
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