Germany’s infantry soldiers and space program are among the areas receiving significant monetary investments, as the country’s military push keeps it in the conversation among the strongest of the entire NATO alliance.
The European nation has dramatically boosted its military spending as part of a long-term vision helmed by both former Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the latter overseeing a national overhaul that he said aspires to transform the German military, or Bundeswehr, into the "strongest conventional army in Europe" by 2039.
These moves have been in the works for years now, pushed by Scholz in 2022 as part of a 100 billion-euro military spending strategy following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that this past February exceeded the four-year mark.
Germany overall had a 24% year-over-year increase of defense spending between 2025 and 2026 to $114 billion, according to an annual report published Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). That was the biggest total among European NATO countries, marking the first time since 1990 that Germany spent more than 2% of its GDP on defense.
"In 2025 military spending by European NATO members rose faster than at any time since 1953, reflecting the ongoing pursuit of European self-reliance alongside increasing pressure from the United States to strengthen burden sharing within the alliance," said Jade Guiberteau Ricard, researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program, in a statement.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for the nation's defense budget to dramatically increase roughly $600 billion from current record-high fiscal year spending, up to approximately $1.5 trillion for the next fiscal year.
"As states strive to meet the new NATO spending targets agreed in 2025, there is a risk that the boundaries between military and other 'defense- and security-related' expenditures become blurred, reducing transparency and further complicating the assessment of military capabilities," Ricard added.
Space Program Investment Launches
On Monday, Germany launched its military space program intended to bolster cybersecurity, satellite constellations, early‑warning and ground systems, and independent space operations for the Bundeswehr, according to DW. In September 2025, Pistorius announced the nation’s planned investment of 35 billion euros (roughly $41 billion USD) to go fully in effect by 2030.
German satellite manufacturer OHB, one of Europe's leading aerospace companies, has reportedly teamed with other large defense companies like Airbus and Rheinmetall to build a national military satellite network comparable to SpaceX's Starlink.
"We are hardening our systems against disruptions and attacks,” Pistorius said last year at the space congress of the Federation of German Industries, according to German newspaper Die Welt. “This explicitly includes cybersecurity for all space systems."
"We must also be able to deter in space in order to be capable of defending ourselves,” Pistorius added, saying that space investment involves better radar systems, telescopes and the future deployment of sentinel satellites.
The investment also signified a broader change requiring German Space Command its own military satellite operations center, deviating from the years-long responsibility of the German Air Force being responsible for space-based threats and military objectives.
"This is the only way we can maintain control over our systems and react quickly in an emergency,” Pistorius previously said, with warfare in Eastern Europe like jamming, drone hacking and other technologies becoming more prevalent in recent years.
German Infantry Gets 1.04 Billion Euro Boost
Also on Monday, the German defense contractor Rheinmetall in a press release provided to Military.com announced a long-term investment aimed to modernize and more sufficiently arm German soldiers.
Rheinmetall said the framework of its “Infantry Soldier of the Future – Enhanced System’ (IdZ-ES) agreement will include delivery of an additional 237 platoon systems for the Bundeswehr at a price point of approximately 1.04 billion euros. Systems are scheduled to be delivered between November 2027 and December 2029, with an additional 8,600 soldiers receiving the IdZ-ES system.
In total, the company says that the Bundeswehr will ultimately be equipped with 353 platoon systems comprising over 12,000 individual sets of equipment. Each platoon system is comprised of 35 individual kits and equipment including advanced IT, optics, optronics, in addition to military clothing, protection and carrying equipment.
Rheinmetall, the general contractor, is responsible for the system and is coordinating more than 30 subcontractors for the long-term investments.
Germany has signed 111 billion euros ($130 billion USD) worth of weapons contracts since 2022, according to the German news outlet Der Spiegel, including about 47,000 procurement contracts signed since Scholz's declaration some four years ago. Those contracts are referenced in German Defense Ministry reports.
