Ukraine reports problems with almost all modern Western weapons systems

Although modern Western weapons are “excellent weapon systems,” they are “unsuitable for use in war” because they are too fragile, too complicated to maintain and the ammunition is too expensive, Kiev criticizes. In contrast, old weapon systems that have already been decommissioned in the West are popular.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung reports under the headline “ German weapons in Ukraine – ‘War suitability strongly questioned ’” about a lecture that the German deputy military attaché gave to German soldiers at the German embassy in Kiev. The modern German weapons are said to have proven to be too expensive, too complicated and too prone to malfunctions in Ukraine: The Ukrainian army complains that many of the weapon systems supplied by Germany are only of limited use at the front.

Modern Western weapons not “fully fit for war” 

Modern Western weapons have not been particularly successful in Ukraine. Yes, the ultramodern Western weapons are very good, but only in theory. They are not made for real war because the maintenance is so complicated that they cannot be maintained at the front.

In addition, they are vulnerable if not used in a clean environment, but on a “real” front it is not clean, but very dirty. For example, at the end of 2023 I reported that Ukrainian soldiers had complained about the ultra-modern French Caesar howitzer, saying that “the lady is in dire need of a cleaning.” Although it shoots very fast and very accurately, it requires very careful maintenance and is poorly adapted to real combat operations, which is why it is rarely used.

And this criticism apparently applies to almost all modern weapons supplied from the West. The Süddeutsche Zeitung writes about the criticism from Ukraine on modern Western weapons:

“Ammunition too expensive, technology too fragile – and almost impossible to repair at the front, is the sobering analysis of the battle-hardened Ukrainians. (…) Ultramodern warfare equipment, such as the Patriot air defense system, the Iris-T air-to-air missile, the 2000 self-propelled howitzer or the more modern Leopard 2A6 tanks are partly failing the Ukrainian fighters. That is at least according to a secret transcript of the presentation by the deputy military attaché in Delitzsch, which was made available to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR and WDR. The document concludes: “Almost no German large-scale equipment is fully fit for war.”

The Panzerhaubitze 2000, which is highly praised in Germany, comes off particularly badly, a fact that has been known since its first deployment in Ukraine. It is simply not designed for “real” warfare with a high rate of fire, because the barrel overheats and has to be replaced. But what good is artillery if it cannot fire continuously at the enemy?

According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, it is characterized by “such a high technical vulnerability” that its “suitability for war is highly questionable.” The Süddeutsche Zeitung also writes:

“The Panzerhaubitze 2000, for example, has long been considered vulnerable in the field, with software problems or the gun barrel overheating and needing to be replaced, according to reports from Ukraine. Still, the weapon system is generally considered powerful and accurate.”

The pride of the German defense industry, the Leopard 2, also gets bad marks from Ukraine, as can be read in the newspaper Süddeutsche about the most modern variant of the tank:

“In the case of the (…) Leopard 2A6 main battle tank, repair costs are high, and often field repairs, i.e. repairs at the front, are not possible.”

And the same goes for the air defense systems supplied from the West – they are actually good, but unsuitable for a real war mission, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung:

“The Iris-T SLM air defense system is very effective, but the price of the ammunition is too high and it is 'not available in the necessary quantities.' The Patriot missile batteries are also in principle an “excellent weapon system,” but “unsuitable for combat use because the carrier vehicle is too old and the manufacturer can no longer supply spare parts.”

Since the drones against which Iris-T is mainly used are relatively cheap weapons, the ammunition for Iris-T is far too expensive in comparison, according to another article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

After the Cold War, when the West dominated the world, Western manufacturers forgot how to build good weapons. Yes, on paper they are excellent and they are very accurate, but they are not designed for real wars, but for commando operations and short military operations against inferior opponents such as Iraq, Libya and so on.

Furthermore, it has become a business model for Western defense companies to make a lot of money from the maintenance contracts for their weapons, which they sell together with the weapons. Western defense companies therefore have an interest in making the maintenance of their weapons extremely complicated in order to make more money.

The result can be seen in Ukraine: the great Western high-tech weapons are in practice not “necessarily suitable for war” in a “real” war.

The old weapons work

The situation is different with the old weapons that were also delivered to Ukraine. They work, but are of course outdated. For example, the Süddeutsche Zeitung writes about the old German tank models:

“The old anti-aircraft tank, which was decommissioned by the Bundeswehr in 2010, is from the Ukrainian point of view the ‘most popular, most efficient and most reliable weapon system’. The tank, which was developed back in the 1970s, not only reliably shoots Russian drones out of the sky, but has also proven itself on the front lines and is considered robust and less vulnerable. The outdated Marder infantry fighting vehicle, affectionately called the frontline taxi by Ukrainians, is also high on the list of favorites of the Kiev fighters.”

It's almost funny that Ukraine seems happier with the hopelessly outdated Leopard 1 than with the modern Leopard 2, because at least the Leopard 1 works, even if its use is limited due to its old design:

“The nearly 60-year-old Leopard 1, according to the newspaper, is considered 'reliable' but is 'often only used as improvised artillery due to insufficient armour'.”

This confirms that Western manufacturers forgot how to build good weapons after the Cold War, because the weapons from the Cold War still work. The problem of course is that they are hopelessly outdated and therefore easy targets for Russian weapons.

What does this mean for armament?

The new German government now wants to invest almost a hundred billion euros each year in the purchase of new weapons. However, the experience in Ukraine shows that the money is thrown out the window because these weapons are not really useful for a war with Russia, for which they are supposedly being purchased.

Heavy tanks in particular seem to have little use in modern warfare because they are easy targets for drones. Today, a 10,000 euro drone can easily destroy a multimillion euro tank miles from the front before it can fulfill its actual purpose at the front.

Modern war is again a war of infantry and trenches, which is the result of drones. Moreover, NATO's strategies have been aimed at achieving total air superiority for decades. But against Russia, whose air defense is probably the best in the world, NATO will hardly achieve total air superiority.

In the event of war, this would mean that tanks would be useless and Western soldiers would have to reinvent warfare entirely, largely without armor and air support.

The war in Ukraine has shown that modern war is once again an artillery war with the addition of drones, in which infantry digs into trenches and tries to storm enemy positions man-to-man.

All the modern Western weapons that the German government now wants to order will not be of much use, especially since Western artillery – see the French Caesar or the German Panzerhaubitze 2000 – is not “fully fit for war” under the conditions of such a front.

Nothing can be done about this in the short term, because it takes many years to develop new weapons. This means that the hundreds of billions that now have to be spent on the Bundeswehr are literally burned.