German Defense Minister Pistorius Meets Hegseth Amidst Defense Procurement Tensions

WASHINGTON — German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius came to the Pentagon on Wednesday with a dilemma: Berlin wants a stronger, more self-reliant European military, but much of what it needs comes from the United States.

Pistorius is in the U.S. this week after earlier being rebuffed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Berlin is seeking direct access to the Trump administration during a period of growing uncertainty over Washington's military role in Europe.

"Germany is strengthening its defense capabilities and acts as a driving force in Europe," Pistorius said at the Pentagon alongside Hegseth. "We Europeans want to take some of the burden off the U.S. and assume primary responsibility for conventional deterrence in Europe over time."

He said Germany has increased its defense spending to $147 billion this year — up by 25% compared to 2025 — and has almost tripled it over the last decade.

The two signed a statement of intent on defense-industrial cooperation covering joint production, licensed manufacturing, maintenance hubs and supply-chain resilience. What the document did not contain were concrete projects, timelines or investment commitments.

Despite efforts by Germany and other European countries to build up their defense industries and reduce dependence on the U.S. in areas such as long-range missiles and satellites, much of the new defense spending is ending up with American companies.

On Friday, Pistorius will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for the rollout of Germany’s first Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jet, arguably the most significant weapon in the Bundeswehr’s modernization drive. Berlin has ordered 35 aircraft, with pilot training beginning next year in Arkansas and deliveries scheduled through 2029. Officials are already discussing a potential follow-on order of 15 more jets.

The F-35 is more than another procurement program. It secures Germany’s role in NATO nuclear sharing, unlocks new operational capabilities and ties the Luftwaffe into the alliance’s rapidly growing community of F-35 operators.

And it is only one example of reliance on U.S. arms-makers.

Germany’s rearmament increasingly runs through American production lines: CH-47F Chinook transport helicopters, P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, Patriot air-defense systems and key technologies for the future F127 air-defense frigate.

Hegseth praised Germany's higher defense spending and said it was a key step toward what he calls "NATO 3.0" — the idea that European allies will bear more of the burden of defending the continent while the U.S. pivots to other areas of the world.

“Europe must assume primary responsibility for its conventional defense,” he argued.

Transatlantic divide

But the views of Berlin and Washington are diverging.

Pistorius underlined that the major danger facing the continent is Russia, calling it “the greatest threat to the alliance, the West, and our way of life since the height of the Cold War.” He also cited challenges from Iran, North Korea and China.

The German minister stressed Berlin's continued support for Ukraine. The Trump administration has halted almost all new military aid to Kyiv since taking office.

Hegseth identified no specific threats and underlined that President Donald Trump's main mission was "American manufacturing, American made, American jobs."

For now, Germany's rearmament drive dovetails with that vision. Pistorius said: "Germany is investing and buying in the U.S., adding up to about $50 billion, creating growth and jobs in the United States of America."

But Germany is using its own resources and teaming up with other European countries on defense projects. Berlin is also increasingly frustrated that the U.S. is favoring its own needs — boosting production of Tomahawk missiles to rebuild its own stocks depleted by the war against Iran — which is delaying potential deliveries to Germany.

Berlin sees the Typhon launcher system and Tomahawk cruise missiles as essential for deterrence against Russia. The acquisition would give Germany something it has never possessed: the ability to strike targets deep behind enemy lines with conventional land-based precision weapons. The problem is that the capability Germany wants depends entirely on American production.

“I made it very clear that the timelines previously discussed are too slow from our perspective,” Pistorius said after raising the issue with Hegseth. The Americans, he added, had “taken note of this positively.”

Hegseth is leading a rethink of U.S. force posture in Europe, and the Trump administration has already pulled troops out of Germany. Asked after their meeting whether he had gained greater clarity about future U.S. deployments, Pistorius was blunt: “No, not yet.”