Russia Is Significantly Outpacing the EU in Its Tank Production, Says German MOD

Russia is significantly outpacing the EU countries in the rate of its tank production and delivery, German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius stated during a speech at the Bundestag on December 5.

Pistorius stated that Russia has made a full transition to a wartime economy, enabling it to manufacture and supply its armed forces with 1,000 to 1,5000 tanks every year. This number is approximately double the combined tank production of the five largest European nations. Russia, Pistorius cautioned, is currently the largest threat to European security and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future.

In April, Pistorius noted that Russia’s military-industrial complex is producing weapons and ammunition in numbers that exceed what is needed for the war against Ukraine. A large portion of what is produced, he said, is being stockpiled rather than being sent to the front.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has previously criticized structural issues within the Western military-industrial complex, pointing out that allied nations produce too few weapons, at excessively high costs, and with slow delivery timelines. Rutte has also called for NATO to supply aid to Ukraine that would not only sustain its resistance, but that would effect a change of trajectory in the war, increasing the cost of the invasion for Russia and its authoritarian allies.

At the end of November, The US Department of Defense reached its capacity to supply Ukraine with weapons without compromising US military readiness. The Biden administration is facing challenges in implementing the over $6.5 billion allocated for military aid to Ukraine before the presidential transition on January 20, 2025.

“We are scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of easy stuff to send off the shelf,” a senior US defense official said.

Ukraine has been revolutionizing its defense production since the start of the full-scale invasion, manufacturing a wide variety of drones, missiles, and artillery. Ukrainian-made ammunition now accounts for half of all munitions used in combat zones, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Nevertheless, it is not enough to combat Russia’s enormous weapons production capabilities, especially given the military support it receives from North Korea and Iran.