Secretary of War Pete Hegseth deserves praise for his agreement with German defense minister Boris Pistorius to bolster the production of key munitions.
The deal will see Germany ramp up production of Patriot interceptor munitions, which have predictably been heavily depleted by the war in Iran and transfers to Ukraine. Germany may also produce more Tomahawk cruise missiles. This is very good news. Alongside THAAD anti-ballistic missile interceptors, Patriot munitions would be critical in any future war with Russia or China. The latter is a particular concern vis-a-vis China, whose People’s Liberation Army has been ordered by President Xi Jinping to be ready to conquer Taiwan by 2027. China’s seizure of Taiwan would be catastrophic for U.S. prosperity and security.
This compact carries broader strategic value.
Germany is emphasizing here the value it places on its U.S. alliance. Not only will this new framework assist the overwhelmed U.S. defense industrial base, but it will also increase German investment in the U.S. defense industry. The Trump administration should recognize the diplomatic risks Chancellor Friedrich Merz is taking. After all, although it remains unwilling to spend sufficiently on defense, France is pushing extremely hard for European powers to procure new weapons in Europe.
Merz is adopting a more measured approach. While he responded weakly to a recent Russian terrorist attack on his soil, he has otherwise been a far better American ally than his two predecessors Olaf Scholz and the extraordinarily overrated Angela Merkel. Merz has massively ramped up defense spending, for example, finally engaging Europe’s largest economy in NATO burden-sharing.
But Hegseth also deserves credit.
He noted that this agreement would “expand opportunities for joint development, production, licensed manufacturing, and expanded maintenance and sustainment capacities — exactly what allied countries should be doing. The objective is straightforward: Deliver capable systems to American, German, and allied forces, at scale and at speed for maximum lethality.” This is well-stated. As was Hegseth’s recognition that Germany is “strengthening its defense capabilities and acts as a driving force in Europe.”
Here we see a coherent, pro-alliance MAGA approach to grand strategy. Hegseth is correct that the United States needs European powers to take greater ownership of Europe’s continental defense. The U.S. Navy and Air Force lack the capacity to sustain their current posture in Europe alongside an effective deterrence-defeat strategy against China.
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Yes, the Trump administration sent the wrong message by reducing troop deployments to Germany (rather than, as should have been the case, Italy and Spain) earlier this year. But Hegseth’s engagement with Pistorius is a significant step in the right direction.
This results-oriented engagement is the way to deal with reliable allies. It is a far better approach than, as is too often the case with Hegseth, the course of theatrical partisanship.