The battlefield is becoming increasingly transparent: drones and sensors are generating a constant stream of data and the side that can process it fastest holds the advantage.
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In an interview with Euronews, the Inspector of the German Army, Lieutenant General Dr Christian Freuding said that modern warfare is increasingly defined by speed and the ability to make decisions faster than the enemy.
“We are seeing a battlefield that is becoming ever more transparent, in some cases almost ‘glass-like,'” he said, referring to the growing use of sensors, drones, satellites and electronic surveillance, all of which continuously supply data – often in real time.
Single systems nowadays matter less than the volume of information available and the speed of it being processed. The Bundeswehr describes this approach as “data-centric warfare”. Data becomes “the central resource” and effectively a form of “ammunition”.
“Those who can see more, and above all process information more quickly and in a more structured way to build a clearer operational picture, can take decisions and act faster. In short: they win,” Freuding said. For the German Army, this points to an overhaul.
In the future, information will need to flow seamlessly across the entire system, from the initial sensor to the eventual effect on the battlefield, “from corps to company level.”
According to Freuding, digitalisation is therefore no longer merely a “matter of convenience,” but a “prerequisite for success in combat,” as modern warfare is “more networked, more automated, faster and conducted at greater depth.”
Soldiers are operating under constant surveillance, while facing a persistent threat from a wide range of weapons systems, from “assault rifles and direct fire to indirect fire, glide bombs and ballistic missiles.”
‘Steel alone does not generate combat power’
“That’s why we must be faster than the enemy. We can only achieve this by improving our command and information systems so they are able to process large volumes of data, including with the support of artificial intelligence,” Freuding told Euronews.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany and the Bundeswehr have undergone a major shift, further accelerated during US President Donald Trump’s second term in office, in which he repeatedly questioned the relevance of NATO.
Consequently, the Bundeswehr is expected to expand rapidly, both in personnel and equipment. According to Freuding, the issue is not only a shortage of materiel, but above all a lack of integrated combat capability.
“Steel alone does not generate combat power,” he added, noting that a battle tank is only effective when supported by trained personnel, functioning command systems and a robust logistics chain.
Significant gaps remain though, particularly in air defence, indirect fire, counter-unmanned systems and electromagnetic warfare. A result, Freuding said, of “more than three decades of underinvestment.”
For decades, the German Army was politically sidelined and underfunded, shaped in part by the post-Cold War “peace dividend,” a diminished sense of threat and a focus on overseas deployments rather than territorial defence.
Combined with structural shortcomings and chronic underinvestment, this led to significant capability gaps that have only begun to be addressed since 2022.
Munitions rolled out at an ‘unusually fast pace’
Addressing these shortfalls, Freuding stressed the need for “functional capability across the board” within brigades, divisions and corps.
By this, he is referring to robust logistics, effective air defence and sufficient engineering support. The objective, he argued, is not just a fully equipped force, but also a maintained material reserve to offset losses in wartime. In his view, true “combat readiness” can only be achieved on that basis.
The Army is therefore also moving at pace to build up new capabilities – including the introduction of loitering munitions.
Loitering munitions are essentially drones fitted with explosives, able to hover over an area before identifying and striking a target, before destroying themselves on impact.
They have become a defining feature of Russia’s war against Ukraine, where Moscow has deployed so-called “Shahed” drones, and have also been widely used by Iran in the conflict in the Middle East.
These, Freuding noted, make it possible to “engage individual enemy targets precisely over long distances at comparatively low cost” and represent “a new era.”
According to the German Army chief, the process has moved at an “unusually fast pace.” Following initial organisational planning in September 2024, a decision was already taken by the Bundeswehr’s Inspector General, Carsten Breuer, Freuding’s superior.
Within just six months, the necessary planning groundwork had been put in place.
At the same time, training with industry partners and testing were already under way, allowing the first systems to be procured in “three-digit numbers” as early as 2025. With the approval of a €25 million funding proposal in February 2026, the path was finally cleared for full-scale procurement from October 2026.
Germany ramps up Lithuania brigade to bolster NATO
The first unit to be equipped with the new systems will be 45th Battletank Brigade in Lithuania. By 2027, around 4,800 soldiers, alongside some 200 civilian staff, are to be permanently stationed in Rūdninkai, around 30 kilometres from the Belarusian border.
According to Freuding, the rapid build-up of the brigade is intended to achieve one thing above all: to strengthen deterrence through a permanent presence on NATO’s eastern flank. For him, the brigade is “a visible sign of Germany’s leadership responsibility,” as deterrence only works if it is credible and sustained on the ground.
That time, however, comes at a cost – one that is felt first at home in Germany.
To make the brigade operational by the end of 2027, the Army is drawing on existing structures, something Freuding described as “pre-financing”: key personnel are being reassigned from existing units and deployed to Lithuania. The same applies to equipment, which is also to be pulled from active formations.
“This is painful,” Freuding admitted, as the gaps in Germany affect both personnel and materiel.
Even so, he argued the step is necessary to meet the tight timeline, with the aim of closing these shortfalls again “swiftly” afterwards.
Conceptually, though not outright replicated, the brigade is being shaped largely by lessons from the war in Ukraine. The battlefield, Freuding said, has become far more transparent, emphasising again that unmanned systems are now central, and strikes can be delivered over much greater distances.
At the same time, he’s clear that the war in Ukraine is “not a blueprint,” and the aim is not to copy that war, but to draw out relevant lessons and translate them into the Bundeswehr’s own capabilities. Those lessons are already feeding into the brigade’s structure, training and equipment in Lithuania, and into the wider development of the Army, Freuding explained.
The brigade in Lithuania is therefore more than just a political signal to NATO allies and it’s also emerging as a testing ground for the Bundeswehr’s future direction.
Deterrence is more than numbers
For Freuding, deterrence is not about pulling a single lever – whether that means more troops, more equipment or faster procurement – but about combining several elements at once. It rests on immediate readiness in the sense of “fight tonight,” sustained growth in personnel and materiel, and continuous innovation to ensure future capability.
“Deterrence emerges from the interplay of multiple factors,” he told Euronews, warning that none of them works in isolation: “Readiness without growth is not sustainable. Growth without full equipment remains ineffective. Innovation without solid structures leads nowhere.”
What ultimately matters, he argues, is the overall strength of the force: modern equipment, professional training, robust logistics and the ability to command digitally at scale. Only then does deterrence become tangible.
Against what he described as the most serious security challenge since the end of the Cold War, Freuding’s message is blunt: “The threat is real. The enemy will not wait for us to be ready.”
The task now, he said, is to improve every day because the Army must be able “to prevail, to win.”
