When asked on Tuesday at the military airbase Ämari how the Bundeswehr could buy more than EUR 1 billion (USD 1.06 billion) worth of radios without checking how they could be installed in vehicles, he said: “This will be clarified in the coming weeks and months. I am somewhat annoyed about this.”
Pistorius pointed out that the order had been given in December, “so before my time.”
Pistorius – appointed to the job in January to replace Christine Lambrecht after she made a series of political blunders – said he only learned of the details over the weekend.
The Defence Ministry has also informed the Bundestag following press reports that the technical complexity of the installation had been underestimated and would lead to delays of about a year. For example, the cooling system and the alternator of the vehicles had to be modified.
The provision of a combat-ready division by 2025, as promised to NATO, would be ensured by other radio equipment, Pistorius said.
Source: dpa.
