The Court of Auditors dismantles a billion-dollar project – the Bundeswehr’s new attack helicopters cannot fire

The Federal Audit Office is clearly criticizing the procurement of new attack helicopters for the Bundeswehr. Due to problems with planning and the qualification of the intended ammunition, the light combat helicopters (LKH) ordered in 2023 are expected to be fully operational for several years than originally planned. This emerges from a confidential report for the Bundestag, which is available to “Spiegel”.

The project is currently “on a critical path,” the magazine quoted from the report. The auditors therefore come to the conclusion: “The Bundeswehr underestimated the effort required to convert a commercially available basic helicopter model into a military attack helicopter.”

The Bundeswehr will therefore initially receive helicopters in a “provisional configuration”. With these she “cannot fight, but only train”. The operational readiness will therefore be “significantly delayed compared to the original planning”.

In 2023, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) received the green light for the procurement. According to the contract, Airbus is to deliver military variants of the H145M by the end of 2028 for around 2.5 billion euros. The model is based on the civilian H145.

According to the report, there are problems with, among other things, the ammunition for the on-board cannon. The projectiles intended for this purpose have not yet been tested by the Bundeswehr. The 20-millimeter ammunition currently available cannot be declared safe because of “the electrostatic sensitivity of the primer cap.” It is currently unknown when the manufacturer will be able to fix the problem.

The auditors also see risks with the guided missiles intended for anti-tank use. These are to be delivered from the end of 2027 and then tested by the Bundeswehr. According to “Spiegel”, the Ministry of Defense itself describes the schedule as “very ambitious” and fraught with risks.

In addition, according to the report, the ministry wants to procure a tranche of guided missiles for 384 million euros. The Federal Audit Office criticizes the fact that the contract should be concluded before the systems could be tested. The first firing attempts in May 2025 were aborted due to technical problems with the controls.

According to the auditors' assessment, there is therefore a risk "that the guided missile would not pass the operational test" and would be "unusable for use by the Bundeswehr".

The delays could also affect German commitments to NATO. Germany wants to initially provide the alliance with twelve operational combat helicopters by 2029 and a total of 72 from 2032 onwards. According to “Spiegel”, the Defense Ministry rejected fears that Germany would not be able to keep these promises.

The Federal Audit Office also recommends that the order for a further 33 Airbus helicopters be postponed for the time being. The Ministry of Defense should only procure additional light attack helicopters “when it is ensured that the contractor will provide the contractually agreed service.” At the moment “further procurement is neither indicated nor necessary”.

When handing over the first H145M, Pistorius viewed the project as evidence of faster procurement. He has “significantly increased the speed of procurement,” said the SPD politician. This is a “lived turning point”.