Germany add a further 1,000 civilian Bundeswehr positions in 2026
The German federal government approved budget details for the armed forces going into 2026 which will allow the cabinet to expand the number of personnel in the Bundeswehr.
To this end, an additional 10,000 military and 2,000 civilian posts will “initially be created” next year.
Notably, these figures have grown beyond the estimate laid out in the 2025 budget issued at the end of June. Now, there is an extra 1,000 civilian positions anticipated.
Bundeswehr in data
Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius noted the growing interest in the new defence positions: “We are already seeing increasing numbers of applications and recruitments,” he observed. “We want to continue this positive trend.”
Currently, the 180,000 soldiers serve in the Bundeswehr. In total, Germany aim to reach 202,483 military and around 77,899 civilian posts by 2031, although the cabinet did not provide a definitive timeline for this in their statement, issued on 30 July 2025.
Recent interest in the armed forces may have come from previous recruitment drives. In November 2024, for example, the government required 18-year-olds to answer questionnaires assessing their interest in joining the military, as well as their health and physical abilities.
Leaning on reserves
Likewise, Germany also aim to grow its reserve force from 60,000 to 200,000, allowing for a rapid expansion of troops to approximately 460,000 in the event of war.
Such ambitions for the new level of reservists must come with a change in perspective, according to leading military officials during a panel discussing the role of the reserves at the Royal United Services Institute in London. It was suggested that the reserves must be considered a strategic force rather than an auxiliary contingent mobilised on an ad hoc basis.
This will prove significant given the sobering number of Russian casualties in Ukraine – around 1,500 per day, and now exceeding one million in total – figures which prompted one UK minister to note that “Russia will soon turn to its third army” after three-and-a-half years into its full-scale war.
Uptick in the budget
This draft of the federal budget for 2026 will be sent to parliament for approval. The first reading in the Bundestag is expected to take place towards the end of September.
As part of this recent drafting, the cabinet also composed a new economic plan for the Bundeswehr Special Fund (set up in June 2022) as the investment enters its final year with funds expected to run dry by the end of 2026.
The government confirmed that the armed forces will benefit from more than €108bn ($123.4bn) next year.
Besides the new positions, these funds will be allocated to costly, collective programmes led by Germany and its European allies. Pistorius recently reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to projects such as FCAS, which has lately been under considerable pressure and strain.
