ABSTRACT
The chapter describes the main features of defence goods production in Germany, a second tier producer leading in some sectors of arms production. German companies are particularly strong in naval shipbuilding, tank, artillery, ammunition and small arms production. These strengths are generally linked to global leadership in corresponding civilian industries, such as automotive, machine building and shipbuilding industries. In other fields, such as aerospace, electronics and IT, production in Germany mostly occurs in collaboration with companies from other European countries or the US. One company, Airbus, dominates in terms of sales but is focused on those sectors of defence production where production occurs in international cooperation. Defence production in Germany is concentrated in several locations both in the South and the North of Germany, where it also is important in terms of employment. Despite of Germany’s restrictive arms export policies, sales to foreign customers have recently become equally important as local procurement for the German defence industry. The chapter provides detailed data on various aspects of the German defence industry to support the author’s analysis.
