The government will propose to Parliament a 2023 "war economy" budget for the Ministry of the Armed Forces, with a major effort in particular on ammunition stocks and equipment maintenance, the ministry announced on Tuesday.

As announced on several occasions and as must be the case again in 2024 and 2025, the armed forces budget will increase by three billion euros in 2023 to reach 43.9 billion euros (excluding pensions), in accordance with the Military Programming Law (LPM 2019-2025).

5 billion euros devoted to the maintenance of equipment

Next year, 5 billion euros will be devoted to the maintenance (or “maintenance in operational condition”) of army equipment, an annual increase of 12%.

As well as 1.1 billion for the renewal of ammunition stocks (for a total of two billion commitment authorizations).

The ministry did not give any details on the type of ammunition concerned or on what could possibly fall under the replacement of stocks ceded to Ukraine since the Russian invasion of February 24.

But "this budget is part of the news of the war", noted the cabinet of the minister, Sébastien Lecornu, in a briefing to the press.

"This war is a passage to the act of unfortunate prospects, but anticipated in the strategic review which had presided over the development of the LPM", added the same source.

“While there may be inflections, particularly on ammunition and spare stocks, these are still the main lines that had been planned”.

Financing the rise in the index point and job creation

Of the additional three billion euros, 669 million will be devoted to payroll, including both the effects of the rise in the civil service index point (357 M) and the continuation of the reform of the remuneration of military, which aims to “simplify and standardize the compensation system” for soldiers.

The army also plans 1,500 job creations next year, for a total recruitment plan of 29,700 people, including 5,600 civilians.

Some 550 million will finance scheduled maintenance of equipment and 455 million the modernization of “major impact programs”.

“We had not waited for Ukraine to provide additional resources and repair the armies to face the return of Ukrainian-type conflicts,” insisted the ministry.

Delivery of thirteen Rafales and the second nuclear submarine

Also noteworthy, among the major equipment purchases, the delivery in 2023 of thirteen Rafales and the order of forty-two new aircraft, a batch of Aster missiles and the delivery of the second nuclear attack submarine (SNA) Barracuda , the Duguay-Trouin.

This budget represents an increase of 7.4% compared to 2022 and 36% since 2017. A new military programming law is in preparation for the period 2024-2030.

It will therefore overwrite the last two years of the current LPM.

The budget should reach a total of 50 billion in 2025.

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