Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) wants more money for the armed forces despite the enormous national debt that the corona crisis has caused: “This is what I fight for and I promise again”. “Security does not come for free, as the corona crisis proves, among other things. which Austria could not cope with without its army. ”“ In order for us to be able to fulfill our task, we need sufficient financial resources, which we will get, ”said the minister to the APA. Tanner names the development of self-sufficiency as well as the greening of barracks, investments in terror and cyber defense and the expansion of military medical services and NBC defense as the focus for the new year. “The year 2020 showed us where our priorities have to be.” The focus is on terrorist threats and their consequences, for example a blackout. “We will make major investments in military equipment, such as armored vehicles and weapons, as well as launch a personnel offensive in the cyber defense area.”
Main battle tank Leopard
The Leopard battle tank is also on the list. “After years of not investing in the Leopard main battle tank, which is literally on the verge of collapse, there will also have to be investments in this system. At the same time, we are seeing that drones are becoming more and more the focus of military conflicts, so we have to be in Invest in drones and drone defense. “
With regard to the announced structural reform, Tanner emphasizes that the brigades will not be abolished and that she has never considered doing so. “I never spoke of the brigades.” The major project “Our Army” will be implemented point by point. Parts of this reform are the strengthening of the militia with the € 200 million militia package, the creation of partial fitness, the procurement of helicopters worth € 300 million and the making of basic military service more attractive.
Partial suitability and pepper spray as a replacement weapon
Tanner rejects criticism of the partial suitability and is convinced that it would hold up before the highest court. “Partial fitness is about giving more young men the opportunity to do their service to the republic and the population. If you consider that every fourth young man and in some regions even every third young man is now unfit, so this was and is a necessary step. “
The minister defends the much ridiculed example of pepper spray as a replacement weapon for partially disabled people. It is about “that a young man who cannot shoot because of his physical abilities, for example because he has a shoulder injury, has poor hearing or vision, cannot be completely excluded for that reason alone.”
Replacement of the Hercules transport aircraft
Tanner also makes a surprising announcement: she is preparing to purchase the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, which will have to retire in seven years at the latest for reasons of age. You will set up a working group at the beginning of the year to clarify the procurement. Several of Tanner's predecessors postponed the decision to purchase the Swedish Saab, which was used as a training and identification aircraft, until nothing was purchased, the training aircraft left without a successor at the end of 2020 and airspace monitoring was only carried out with the 15 Eurofighters must become.
“The successor decision for the Saab 105 should have been made years ago. Unfortunately, this was not made. Procurements in this area take time, you don't buy candy in the supermarket,” Tanner criticizes her predecessors and wants something similar with Hercules avoid. These transport aircraft, which Austria bought from Great Britain in 2003, are now very old and should be retired by 2030 at the latest. That means that the successor aircraft would have to arrive in 2028. That is why she is now initiating this subsequent procurement, according to Tanner, which points to the importance of the Hercules: Among other things, this was used to evacuate Austrians from abroad and numerous goods transports during the corona crisis.
