Production of goods for the security and defence industry – a challenge for the regional economy?
Political provisions allow defence spending to be largely exempt from the debt brake. In addition, NATO's goal is to increase the defence budget to 5% of GDP. Against the backdrop of these developments, GWS Kurzmitteilung 2025/7 examines the regional distribution and economic impact of rising defence spending in Germany and highlights which sectors of the security and defence industry could benefit. The focus is on the army, navy and air force, as well as their respective major equipment and production sites. As the results show that rising defence spending has a significant impact on the regional economy, particularly on the labour market, it is clear that a rule-based procedure for the systematic collection and updating of equipment data – especially in the course of strategic realignments – is necessary in order to determine the economic effects at the district level. Finally, the study highlights the connection to regional skilled labour shortages.
Brehme, P., Bernardt, F. & Wolter, M. I. (2025): Produktion von Gütern der Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsindustrie – eine regionalwirtschaftliche Herausforderung? GWS-Kurzmitteilung 7/2025, Osnabrück.