"The state for all part-time forces are similarly worrying," Hans-Peter Bartels, parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, told Die Welt. Opposition politicians blamed Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen for allowing the military to deteriorate. The Luftwaffe's main forces, the Eurofighter and Tornado fighter jets and its CH-53 transport helicopters, are only available for use an average of four months a year - the rest of the time the aircraft are grounded for repairs and rearmament. The German air force is also struggling to cover its NATO duties, the document revealed. It added that it was also lacking night-vision equipment, automatic grenade launchers, winter clothing and body armor. The paper also revealed the reason for this shortfall: a lack of spare parts and the high cost and time needed to maintain the vehicles. Specifically, the Bundeswehr's ninth tank brigade in Münster only has nine operational Leopard 2 tanks - even though it promised to have 44 ready for the VJTF - and only three of the promised 14 Marder armored infantry vehicles. The Bundeswehr is due to take over leadership of NATO's multinational Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) at the start of next year, but doesn't have enough tanks, the Defense Ministry document said. The German military has secretly admitted that it can't fulfill its promises to NATO, according to documents leaked to Die Welt newspaper on Thursday.
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