note to war-porn addicts: there will never be another Kursk.
First up, from Bloomberg via MSN, July 4:
Germany Prepares €25 Billion Tank Order to Boost NATO Forces
Germany is considering purchasing up to 2,500 armored fighting vehicles and as many as 1,000 battle tanks as part of a joint European effort to create new NATO brigades to deter Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has asked Germany to contribute as many as seven combat brigades to the alliance within the next decade. The fighting vehicles and tanks, if approved, would equip these forces, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The ramp-up reflects growing concern among allies about heightened Russian hostility since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The order under consideration by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and the Bundeswehr’s top generals would include as many as 1,000 Leopard 2 battle tanks and up to 2,500 GTK Boxer armored fighting vehicles, the people said. The tanks are manufactured by KDNS and Rheinmetall, and the fighting vehicles are made by ARTEC, a joint venture of KDNS and Rheinmetall.
A defense ministry spokesman declined to comment on possible increases in the number of combat vehicles.
Rheinmetall shares were up by as much as 3.7% in Frankfurt following news of the plans and a pre-close call, which prompted analysts to raise price targets.
The total order could be worth as much as €25 billion, the people said, caveating that because procurement negotiations are still ongoing, the ultimate number may be lower....
....MUCH MORE
And from Military Watch Magazine, July 2:
Returning Tank Production to Soviet Era Levels: Russia Will Soon Be Building Over 3000 T-80s and T-90s Per Year
The Russian defence sector is on track to further significantly expand production of main battle tanks to reach a landmark output of 1,000 new tanks by mid-2028, and a staggering 3000 tanks by mid-2035, according to a recent assessment by the Conflict Intelligence Team. The Russian Army previously procured tanks at a very low rate averaging just one per year in the 2010s, although production remained at over 80 per year with the bulk of output being allocated to export markets. Since the outbreak of full scale hostilities between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, however, Russian industry has been able to respond to the surge in domestic demand for modern main battle tanks by more than tripling output within two years, with production in 2024 estimated at 280-300 tanks. This steady increase is set to continue, and is considered vital both to replenish losses suffered in frontline engagements, and to counter the significant expansion of Western Bloc forces across the country’s borders.
Russia currently operates only a single tank production facility, the Uralvagonzavod tank plant, which was one of five that operated in the Soviet Union at the time of the state’s disintegration and one of the three largest. Of the other two primary facilities, the Omsktransmash plant near the Kazakh border was forced into bankruptcy and ceased tank production in the early 2000s, while the Malyshev plant in Ukraine produced a very small number of modernised T-80s but has since been forced to cease work. The Soviet Union in its final decade produced tanks at rates dwarfing those of modern Russia, and by many estimates exceeding those of the rest of the world combined, at approximately 4000 per year. Uralvagonzavod was the only large facility to produce the T-72, while Omsktransmash and Malyshev produced the much more costly and complex T-80....
....MUCH MORE
As noted in the intro to March 5's "As Germany Positions To Be The World's Liquidity Pump...."
"The world's" may be a bit of hyperbole but combined with what China will have to do to achieve the 5% growth figure that was reaffirmed yesterday, we are looking at potentially maybe $2 trillion in deficit spending over the next six years between the two economies and though not enough to offset the shrinkage of the U.S. deficit—which shrinkage must happen to delay slow-motion but inevitable worldwide disaster—it looks like the global party could continue until sunrise and/or 2030.
The fact much of the German deficit spending will go toward armaments is all the better—it is the most inflationary bang-for-the-buck, so to speak, spending a government can do; you make stuff, you blow it up, you make more stuff. It may not add to a country's real national wealth but boy-oh-boy does it boost nominal GDP growth.
This is a really big deal. If you don't believe me, believe the German bond market....
The only thing that has changed over the ensuing four months it the U.S. passed and enacted the budget bill which was transformed from a putative traditional deficit reduction attempt to a "grow our way out of disaster" attempt. Bringing to mind the thoughts of former Gazprom head and former Prime Minister of Russia, Viktor Chernomyrdin:
On Russia's unstable party system:
"Whatever party we establish, it always turns out to be the Soviet Communist Party."
and on economic reform:
"We meant to do better, but it came out as always"
If interested see also May 18's:
"Rearmament: The Charade and the Game of Chicken"
