NATO will formally request that Germany provide seven additional combat brigades of approximately 40,000 troops as part of sweeping new defence targets, according to Reuters.
The move responds to the ongoing war in Ukraine, with alliance defence ministers set to approve the plans next week ahead of a critical June summit. The overall NATO brigade target will surge by 50%, from 80 to 120–130 brigades, though exact figures remain classified due to security sensitivities.
Germany currently fields eight operational brigades and is establishing a ninth in Lithuania by 2027. Meeting NATO’s new demand would require scaling to 17 brigades by 2030, a formidable task given the Bundeswehr’s 20,000-troop shortfall and consistent failure to meet its 203,000-personnel target since 2018.
The demand coincides with Germany’s historic loosening of its constitutional “debt brake” in March 2025, enabling unprecedented defence spending. Chancellor Friedrich Merz secured a two-thirds parliamentary majority to exempt military expenditures above 1% of GDP from borrowing limits and create a €500 billion infrastructure fund. This fiscal shift aims to transform Germany into “Europe’s strongest army” amid waning US security guarantees under President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will push leaders at June’s summit to adopt a new spending benchmark of 5% of GDP (3.5% for defence, 1.5% for broader security). Germany endorsed the target, aligning with Defence Chief Carsten Breuer’s directive for full rearmament by 2029.
Priorities include quadrupling air defences, stockpiling ammunition, and developing deep-strike capabilities exceeding 500 km.
