Boris Pistorius: need up to 60,000 active soldiers in addition

For the new NATO planning goals, the Bundeswehr also needs up to 60,000 soldiers in the active group for increased defense capability. This said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) in Brussels before a meeting of the NATO defense minister, in which the new goals are to be approved.

“We assume – but that’s just a thumb size to say it clearly – that we need around 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers in the standing forces more than today. And at the same time the question will arise: Is the new military service reaching over the next few years?” Said Pistorius.

NATO wants to extremely expand its military skills to deter and defend it in view of the continuing threat from Russia. General Secretary Mark Rutte said the day before in Brussels: “We need more resources, troops and skills to be prepared for every threat and to implement our collective defense plans completely.” The top priority would have the air and rocket defense, far-reaching weapon systems, logistics and large associations of land forces.

In the Bundeswehr, the number of soldiers had dropped again slightly last year despite more settings, while the average age rose. At the end of 2024 there were around 181,150 soldiers, the Department of Defense had declared. A year earlier, on December 31, 2023, there were around 181,500 men and women in uniform. The declared goal was recently 203,000 active soldiers in the armed forces.

A year ago, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) presented his model for a new military service and also mentioned figures for the need for soldiers in the standing troop and the reserve. He called a total of around 460,000 soldiers: specifically 203,000 men and women of the standing forces, the 60,000 existing reservists and 200,000 additional reservists who are now necessary. Military planners assume that the upper limit of 460,000 will be preserved, but significantly more active soldiers and possibly fewer reservists are planned.

In the 2+4 contracts, Germany undertook to limit the number of its soldiers to 370,000 men. The scientific service of the Bundestag wrote in February 2025 that the concept of personnel strength was not precisely defined that the wording suggests “that this is only the active, constantly available troop strength, i.e. regular soldiers (professional soldiers, soldiers for time, basic workers)”.

In the meantime, a new discussion about a mandatory military service is foreseeable. The new military officer of the Bundestag, Henning Otte (CDU), the “Tagesspiegel”, said that “massive” rising NATO requirements could hardly be met without a partially mandatory military service and a more attractive Bundeswehr. He demanded: “The Ministry of Defense should present a specific proposal in which the hurdles for a change towards the obligation of a certain contingent of young people are not too high.”