When Franziska Cusumano wants to illustrate the state of the German debate about defensiveness, she uses two brochures. Both are intended to inform the population how they can prepare for crises and disasters. One has a woman on the cover with a flashlight checking her cellar supplies. This is the German brochure. The other shows a woman with a steel helmet and a weapon in her hand. Cusumano, head of Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks, finds it significant that the German is on the defensive and the Swede is on the offensive: “There is still no sufficient social orientation in Germany as to where things should go in the crisis,” she said at a conference evening on the topic of “defensive society” on Wednesday. F.A.Z. PRO Weltwirtschaft invited managers from the defense industry, the Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, economists and ethicists to the Frankfurt F.A.Z. Tower to discuss with our readers. The topic of how German society and the economy prepare for a threat of war has come to a head since Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Although the American “peace plan” is currently being intensively negotiated, it does little to change the threat situation. “Even if there is peace in Ukraine, we have no reason to relax,” warns Nicole Schilling, the deputy inspector general of the Bundeswehr and Germany’s second highest military officer. “NATO’s threat situation is independent of what happens in Ukraine.” Just one indication of this: Russia’s army is growing faster than there are losses on the front; it will soon be twice as large as it was at the beginning of the attack. “Russia will consider what step it will take next.” “Don’t always wait for Brussels.” But many places in Germany are still not ready for that, warns manager Cusumano, whose division produces, among other things, military versions of the Unimog. Three years after the start of the war, the processes are still in peace mode, including in industry. Daimler and its division claim to be the world market leader and innovation leader as a truck manufacturer, “but that is not always the case in the military sector, I say quite self-critically.” In order to defend itself, the industry must become better in three areas: develop innovations faster, deliver faster and scale up to large-scale production more quickly. “And we as an industry shouldn’t always wait for Brussels first, but should also proactively make our own decisions.” Britta Jacob from ARX Robotics, a combat robot start-up from the Munich area, sees it similarly. The small company also uses its ground drones, which are little larger than a lawnmower, on the Ukrainian front. There they are further developed in a specially built training and testing center. Jacob reports in the evening that she cannot accept the German attitude of wanting to perfect the robots to perfection and for all purposes. For many soldiers there, a functioning robot that simply follows them and carries weapons or ammunition is enough. No ground drone with a turn signal and a license plate. In addition, you shouldn’t have to build a ground drone that also has a parking brake, turn signals and a license plate so that it can be approved for use on civilian roads. However, this is often expected in Germany. It must be enough to be able to build simple wartime versions that do not have to meet all the characteristics of civilian vehicles. “But a tank isn’t built just for the joy of driving and it doesn’t have to find a parking space in Munich.” Drones and computer scientists instead of tanks and infantrymen Deputy Inspector General Schilling agrees: “We in the Bundeswehr have often ordered the jack-of-all-trades,” which has complicated, slowed down and made developments more expensive. That must and will change. The procurement time will also change. But of course there are forces of perseverance in the Bundeswehr, as in all organizations. Start-up representative Jacob also complains that industry and the state are still too focused on the warfare of the past. Instead of tanks and infantrymen, drones and computer scientists would be needed: “Hardware no longer brings a big advantage on the battlefield, today it’s about software and data.” The knowledge and technology for this are also available in Germany. But if you look at the volumes with which weapons are procured by the Bundeswehr, the ratio of old to new technology is still 99 to 1. More on the subject Daimler lobbyist Jörg Howe admits that the companies also have to rethink. Big brands could no longer afford the arrogance of operating on the principle: “not from us, not good”. Instead, they would have to work more closely with start-ups like ARX Robotics in order to benefit from their agility and speed of innovation. Safety consultant Moritz Brake encourages him: “Trying something new and completely different is often only possible outside of existing processes.” Cusumano from Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks calls in Frankfurt for a social rethinking process. Everyone must now be prepared to take responsibility, “a well-fortified society does not arise by chance.” And Jacob even sees the current situation as an opportunity for Germany to modernize: “As terrible as the war is, if you can learn something there, you should do it.”
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