Overview

• Boris Pistorius named Jens Plötner State Secretary for Armaments and Innovation on June 4 to accelerate weapons procurement and deepen European defense projects
• A newly created third State Secretary post has been filled by Jan Stöß to handle rising workloads from shifting security demands
• Plötner arrives from his role as Olaf Scholz’s foreign policy adviser, bringing diplomatic networks but drawing scrutiny for limited defense procurement experience
• FDP’s Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann labeled the move a “fatal signal” over Plötner’s perceived leniency toward Moscow and criticized the sidelining of CDU’s Roderich Kiesewetter from the Parliamentary Control Committee
• Recent constitutional changes loosening debt-brake limits have already driven record-high procurement volumes for the Bundeswehr