The Quest for Relevant Air Power

202 │ GERMAN Air Force
Ground Based Air Defence
In the post–Cold War era, the GAF adopted the concept of extended
air defence, which aims at countering not only aircraft and
helicopters but also theatre ballistic and cruise missiles. 339 The
concept does not, however, cover strategic ballistic missile defence. 340
To meet the goals of extended air defence, German Patriot systems
underwent various upgrade programmes, particularly with regard
to sensor performance and C2. The PAC-3 missile was to be introduced
with half of the remaining German Patriot units from 2007
onwards, giving German Patriot systems a TBMD capability
against theatre ballistic missiles with a range of up to 1,000 km. 341
With the Patriot the only viable system for the full spectrum of
EAD, Hawk and Roland SAM systems were disbanded by 2005,
earlier than expected, to achieve rapid cost-saving effects. 342 Currently
and in the medium term, 24 Patriot units represent the
GAF’s only GBAD assets in the context of EAD. 343 These drastic
reductions occurred against the background of the Struck reform,
which saw a further adaptation of Air Force Structure 5 and the
elaboration of Air Force Structure 6 as indispensable in light of a
strained defence budget.
The 2003 Defence Policy Guidelines explicitly underlines the importance
of EAD in general and TBMD in particular. It emphasises
the protection of deployed forces against rockets and missiles.
344 There is a resultant shift from territorial defence to
expeditionary warfare in the field of GBAD.
In the medium term, the acquisition of 12 Medium Extended
Air Defence System (MEADS) units was planned. Yet the necessity
of this highly mobile system, configured for the PAC-3 missile
and a surface-launched version of the IRIS-T, was being reassessed
in the first half of 2010, particularly against the backdrop of depleted
public budgets in general and of delays and cost increases
to the trinational US-German-Italian project. 345
Conclusion
In the post–Cold War era, the GAF has evolved from a force
primarily geared up to forward defence in NATO’s central region
and restrained by Germany’s particular historical legacy to a force