“Germany’s High-Quality Contribution” to NATO IAMD
Defence in Germany is always a controversial issue and the difficulty of reconciling the legitimate viewpoints of numerous interest groups makes the government vulnerable to harsh criticism on occasion. It is heartwarming, therefore, to see one of the nation’s major political groupings addressing and – more importantly – supporting defence initiatives.
At their annual winter retreat in Kloster Seeon in Upper Bavaria last week, members of the Bundestag from the Christian Social Union (CSU) adopted a supportive position with regard to Germany’s (and Europe’s) future air defence. In a paper adopted by the conference, the group declared that the Taktische Luftverteidigungssystem (TLVS) tactical air defence system should become Germany’s “high-quality contribution” to protecting the (NATO) alliance against missile threats. The MPs called for “a strong state and a defensive democracy,” committing themselves to NATO and to the alliance’s goal that members states should dedicate a minimum of 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) to defence.
By design, TLVS far exceeds the capabilities of existing ground-based air defense systems and thus provides next-generation homeland and regional protection for civilians and the armed forces. TLVS is digital, threat-proof, and fit for the future. Furthermore, TLVS will be Germany’s contribution to NATO Integrated Air & Missile Defense (IAMD) – a system that will defeat the entire short- and medium-range threat spectrum – in an increasingly complex threat environment.
No other system in the world – in production or development – can deliver the manoeuvrable 360° surveillance and engagement capabilities of TLVS, which features an open network architecture and a component-based approach that enables truly complementary layered defence.