(Adnkronos) – An officer of the Berlin Ministry of Defense has been suspended on suspicion of having transmitted sensitive information about Germany’s armaments programs. Internal investigations had confirmed the suspicion that a frigate captain working at the ministry had passed a classified list of over 150 procurement projects to unauthorized third parties.
The list had been published as a facsimile by the news portal “Politico” last autumn. Six dense pages detailing future purchases in terms of weapons, ammunition, or satellite technology and the related costs of the gradual rearmament of the Bundeswehr, which it was feared could end up in the hands of potentially hostile countries. Internal investigations had begun immediately at the Ministry of Defense, as only a very small group of people had access to the internal document, which lists more than 150 projects planned for the period from autumn 2025 to the end of 2026.
The publication had caused a stir within the federal government because it exposed the Bundeswehr’s procurement plans. According to investigations, the frigate captain had sent the confidential list to an armaments industry lobbyist in Berlin. Within the Ministry, it is hypothesized that she forwarded the document to Politico, according to Der Spiegel. The military officer has been suspended.
