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Berlin (dpa) - Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer wants to better equip the Bundeswehr against enemy attacks with drones.

She referred to the course of the fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, in which the Azerbaijani military changed entire front lines for the first time with the use of unmanned missiles against Armenian soldiers.

«I want to put the topic of what the new developments mean for the air defense sector on the agenda again.

Are our priorities and planning correct and where do we have to make adjustments, ”said the CDU politician at the German Press Agency in Berlin.

The Bundeswehr used to have a highly specialized army anti-aircraft force to combat enemy missiles at close range.

The troops, which were decommissioned in 2012 on the basis of austerity programs and a changed threat situation, had weapon systems such as the “Gepard” anti-aircraft cannon.

The skills should be taken over by the Air Force.

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“We saw in Nagorno-Karabakh that a different kind of war is being waged with drones.

We see that drones are a means that can pose asymmetrical threats because they are also used by non-governmental groups, terror groups, ”said Kramp-Karrenbauer now.

"That's why we have to re-examine our entire air defense."

She is putting pressure on the dispute over arming the future Heron TP drone - an armaments project that the SPD's coalition partner has put on hold.

The Union demands that the armament be decided in this legislative period because it is necessary for better protection of soldiers on deployments abroad.

Kramp-Karrenbauer now sees Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who is also the SPD candidate for Chancellor, on the train.

“We have a chance if the Federal Finance Minister approves the 25 million bill for arming the drones, which is available.

It is ready for approval, ”said the Minister.

“Then we would have the opportunity to have another discussion in the budget committee and bring about a decision.

Then we also know where we are. "

If there is still a chance in this legislative period, "then I will take it," said Kramp-Karrenbauer.

"Otherwise, if the SPD continues to refuse, it will appear in the election manifesto and play a role with great clarity in coalition negotiations, which we will hopefully conduct," she said.

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As she continues to work with NATO partners in Afghanistan, the minister is already looking at the US government under Joe Biden and the time after US President Donald Trump.

"The legislature in the US has clearly set limits on withdrawal plans by approving the defense budget and by overriding the presidential veto," she said.

That affects the US soldiers in Germany, but also Afghanistan.

Further engagement in Afghanistan, however, depends on how the peace negotiations there progress and what priorities the new US president is setting.

“What applies is what we have agreed upon in NATO.

In together, out together.

And that there are prerequisites that have to be met, ”says Kramp-Karrenbauer.

At the next NATO conferences, there will be an opportunity to talk to the USA and other allies.

The Bundestag should also debate whether and how the mandate for a deployment of the Bundeswehr in Afghanistan will be continued.

"We have always said that we stand in solidarity with other partners in NATO," said the minister.

«We are the big framework nation in the north axis and we will continue to bear this responsibility.

But a common solution has to be found within NATO. "

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210114-99-19276 / 2