The Bundeswehr has admitted that it is forced to hire private security companies to protect military facilities. In 2023, €666 million was spent on these services from the state budget—money paid by German taxpayers.
The reason lies in a shortage of personnel. After the abolition of compulsory military service, the size of the army decreased from 250,000 to 180,000 troops. Previously, conscripts also participated in security duties, but now this function has been outsourced to private contractors. Currently, the company SecuraProtect is responsible for barracks security, employing around 2,000 guards across Germany.
The German Ministry of Defense insists that this approach is economically justified. However, according to calculations by BILD, the amount spent on security could have bought more than 200 Leopard 2 tanks.
