It won’t change anything but it will make us feel good about ourselves.
Compare the weapons export numbers for Germany this year with the numbers this time next year if you don’t believe me. Just have patience. Seen it a dozen times. It’s a recurring, calming ritual Germans like to perform. They seem to believe it reinforces their moral superpower status.
Germany: Baerbock vows new law to curb weapons exports – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said new weapons export control legislation is in the works. During its last few days in power, Angela Merkel’s administration approved almost €5 billion in arms sales…
Together with the United States, Russia, and France, Germany is one of the world’s biggest arms exporters, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
German defense contractor Rheinmetall on Wednesday announced the sale of MK-82-EP general purpose aircraft-dropped bombs to France and Germany.
The order, for about 2,000 bombs, totals $42.3 million, Rheinmetall said in a statement.
The 500-pound bomb bodies will be used by France’s Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter planes, the Direction General de l’Armament said, and as the warhead of the GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition system for Germany’s Tornado and Eurofighter platforms.
That means record level. As in record level of German weapons sales.
The federal government has authorized a record level of weapons exports. The number of export permits for armaments reached a new record high. Compared to the previous year, there was an increase of at least 65 percent for 2019.
Bundesregierung genehmigt Rüstungsexporte in Rekordhöhe – Die Zahl der Exportgenehmigungen für Rüstungsgüter hat einen neuen Höchststand erreicht. Im Vergleich zum Vorjahr gab es 2019 eine Steigerung von mindestens 65 Prozent.
Foreign countries. Name about any country you want.
Beautiful German weapon sale of the week.
Because somebody has to admire them.
In the first ten months of this year the German federal government has given its OK to the sale of arms valued at 7.42 billion euros, nearing an all-time record.
Die Welt verlangt nach deutschen Waffen: Die Bundesregierung hat in den ersten zehn Monaten des laufenden Jahres Rüstungsexporte im Wert von 7,42 Milliarden Euro genehmigt. Die Summe erreicht damit schon fast das Ausmaß des bisherigen Rekordjahres 2015, als die Große Koalition Ausfuhren von Waffen und anderen Rüstungsgütern für 7,86 Milliarden Euro freigab.
German arms exports to Turkey at highest level since 2005 – Last year, Turkey was the No. 1 importer of German weapons by far, with contracts amounting to €242.8 million. Despite a halt in some deliveries, it is on track to claim that title again in 2019.
OK, in this case beautiful German judicial deal of the week.
Because somebody has to admire them.
Three former executives at German gun-maker Sig Sauer, including one who became CEO of a sister company in the United States, reached a deal with prosecutors over allegations they illegally exported arms to Colombia and likely won’t go to prison, a court official in Germany said Wednesday.
Einen Auftrag zur Aufrüstung von Panzern für die Türkei hatte die Bundesregierung vor einigen Wochen noch gestoppt. Jetzt aber erhält das Land sechs neue Jagd-U-Boote – geliefert von ThyssenKrupp.
PS: Funny how these expensive exports always meet the client’s expectations but the weapons systems used in Germany never seem to work. Hard to believe, actually. It’s almost as if it were intentional. Nah.
Looks like Sig Sauer might get fined twelve million euros for illegally selling 36,000 handguns to Columbia.
Nach vier Jahren Ermittlungen gibt es eine Anklage gegen Sig Sauer. Eine Strafe von zwölf Millionen Euro droht: Der Waffenhersteller in Eckernförde soll über die USA illegal mehr als 36 000 Pistolen nach Kolumbien verkauft haben. Sig Sauer sieht sich «rechtskonform».
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday Turkey’s military offensive in Syria’s northern town of Afrin was unacceptable and she criticized Russia for “just watching” the continuing attacks by Syrian forces on eastern Ghouta.
Obwohl die Bundesregierung die türkische Offensive in Afrin als “inakzeptabel” bezeichnet, genehmigte sie seit deren Beginn Rüstungsexporte in Millionenhöhe an die Türkei.
Speaking of sanctions… Neither Iran nor Syria will ever have to worry about those, either. Not as long as Germany is in the picture, I mean.
Germany’s Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control approved a license for a company to sell military applicable technology to Iranian companies that subsequently was used in Syrian regime chemical weapons attacks, reported the German publication Bild on Monday.
The German company Krempel, located near the southern city of Stuttgart, sold electronic press boards to Iranian companies that were used in the production of rockets.
Deutsche Bauteile in Assads Giftgas-Raketen – „Der konventionelle Gefechtskopf wurde entfernt und mit einem großen Gaszylinder ersetzt.“ Die Kennzeichnung aller Raketen verrate, dass sie „2016 produziert wurden und während des Konfliktes aus dem Iran geliefert wurden“.
Observing Hermann 