Five Strategic Levers for Germany’s Defense Materiel Readiness

24 March 2026

The contribution “Five Key Decisions for Germany’s Material Defence Readiness” by Robert Helbig has been published in the CISS Munich Working Paper series. Germany’s Zeitenwende requires rapid progress in strengthening defense materiel readiness, yet structural delays continue to leave a gap between political ambition and effective delivery. This paper identifies five key levers for sustainably improving procurement performance: clear prioritization backed by binding precedence rules for critical projects; phased operational readiness through the rapid fielding of usable initial versions of new technologies; improved market access through simplified certification and state-backed financing; industrial surge capacity supported by reliable retainer models; and a decision-making culture and governance framework that politically underwrite calculated risk-taking while embedding oversight throughout the process. Without these structural reforms, Germany’s special fund risks being exhausted before the required defense capabilities are in place.

The article can be downloaded here.

More information on the Working Paper Series of CISS Munich can be found here.

 

Picture: CISS

Aktuelles

The role of theory in conflict prediction

The latest working paper in the CISS Munich Series, authored by Daniel Mittermaier, examines the link between theory and practice in early crisis warning.

CCEW Symposium 2026

The Center for Crisis Early Warning (CCEW) is thrilled to announce the Save the Date for the CCEW Symposium 2026 scheduled for October 13 to 14, 2026.

Listening to the Digital Pulse of Dissent: How Online Activity Can Help Predict Protest and Conflict

The recently published working paper by Christian Oswald in the CISS Munich Series provides an overview of the potential use of digital trace data for predicting political instability.

Team Day and Kick-off at Lake Starnberg

At the beginning of the year, our team came together in Tutzing on Lake Starnberg to reflect on the months ahead and discuss key topics for our upcoming work.

"Leaving on a High Note?” – The Impact of Exits of International Peacekeeping Missions

The new Working Paper of the CISS Munich Series written by Lena Runge gives research insights on the exits of international peacekeeping missions.

Visit of Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr Centre for Digitalisation and Cyber and Information Domain Capability Development

On 5 February 2026, the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr Centre for Digitalisation and Cyber and Information Domain Capability Development (ZDigBw), Colonel Fahl, visited the Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies (CISS).