Overview

• Surgeon General Ralf Hoffmann said planners are working off a realistic assumption of about 1,000 wounded per day in a large NATO–Russia conflict.
• Authorities estimate roughly 15,000 hospital beds would be needed, drawing mainly on Germany’s civilian system of up to 440,000 beds.
• The Bundeswehr intends to enlarge its 15,000-strong medical service to handle projected demand.
• Flexible evacuation is being prepared, with options including hospital trains, buses, and expanded medical airlift.
• Battlefield medicine is shifting toward blast and burn injuries from drones and loitering munitions, which delay evacuations; NATO has warned Russia could have attack capability by 2029 as Moscow denies plans to strike the alliance.