Germany multiplies 155mm artillery round contract several times

The Budget Committee of the German Bundestag agreed on 5 June 2024, to purchase 1,515 new military trucks worth €920m ($1bn) in total, and an order of 155mm artillery ammunition worth €880m ($959m).

Both orders are part of wider initiatives from the German government, and both are being funded through the Bundeswher special fund, though some funding for the purchase of 155mm ammunition will also come from the regular defence budget. 

The purchase of new military trucks is a part of a framework agreement with the manufacturer to purchase a total of 4,000 protected or unprotected trucks, with 1,008 trucks already delivered. 

The purchase of 155mm ammunition is part of a framework agreement with an armaments company, but in addition to agreeing to purchase the latest order, the framework was renegotiated the call-off quantity, so that within the agreement the uppermost quantity of ammunition Germany may buy has been multiplied several times, signalling that Germany intends to strengthen its defence capabilities going into the future.

The order of military trucks, due to be delivered by the end of 2024, includes 1,250 protected trucks and 265 unprotected trucks, capable of carrying a payload of up to 15 tons. The purchase will also include 500 interchangeable loading platforms and 500 tarpaulin structures.

The 155mm ammunition, purchased in part to support to Ukraine, but also to replenish German stocks, is intended to be fired by armoured howitzers. Germany has provided 22 of these platforms to Ukraine from its own stocks. The release from Germany states that production of 155mm artillery shells will be completed in Germany in the future, so as to strengthen its defence capability and reduce external dependencies. 

The new 155mm framework that Germany has set up contains clauses for other nations to join, building on collective procurement to negotiate better terms of supply. Denmark, Estonia and Netherlands are already contracting partners in an EU initiative that has purchased 68,000 rounds  from a French armaments company in December 2023.