Germany has ordered €23 billion ($24.7 billion) worth of weapons and equipment for its armed forces, or Bundeswehr, during a visit by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to the United States.
A total of around 380 contracts are in place with US defence companies, Pistorius said on Wednesday in the US city of Philadelphia during a tour of a helicopter factory belonging to the US company Boeing.
The CH47-F Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopter, 60 of which Germany has ordered in the state-of-the-art Block II variant, is produced there.
After the visit, Pistorius said that the company had confirmed that there were no risks to the planned delivery by 2027. Germany would thus be able to fulfil the commitments made to NATO and set out in its defence plan.
Pistorius reiterated that Germany wanted to procure more goods for the Bundeswehr that were already available on the market, meaning that it could avoid lengthy and expensive development contracts.
"Thanks to the turnaround in procurement - and this is an example of this - we will be able to tackle several such accelerated projects in future. Fast, available and therefore stable in terms of price," Pistorius said.
The German defence minister reiterated that more money would be needed to modernize the Bundeswehr once a special fund of €100 billion ($107 billion) arranged after the Russian invasion of Ukraine had been spent.
"We're talking about two frigates, possibly two submarines, Iris-T systems and tanks. So there is a whole range of products that we could order now or order in the near future if the money is there," he said.
For Germany, this would "naturally provide a boost to the economy," he said, mentioning securing jobs and expertise in companies, and the economic stimulus that would be associated with this.
Pistorius said earlier in the day that a further escalation of the war in Gaza must be prevented.
Pistorius said he agreed with UN Secretary General António Guterres, whom he held talks with in New York, that everything must be done to alleviate the misery of Palestinian civilians.
"At the same time, I also know that the Israeli dilemma is great: to do what is necessary and what they have a right to do, and at the same time not to allow the suffering of the civilian population to become excessive," Pistorius said at the UN headquarters.
Pistorius said "diplomacy and open dialogue" were critical.
Following the advance of Israeli units in eastern Rafah on Tuesday night, it was feared that a major ground offensive against Hamas militants could soon be under way in the southern Gaza city, where more than 1 million internally displaced Palestinians are living.
The Israeli military had called on residents of the eastern part of Rafah to leave the area on Monday. Israel's critics and allies worry an all-out offensive there could have devastating consequences.
On his North American trip, Pistorius was scheduled meet his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington on Thursday and Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair in Ottawa on Friday.