“If a very risky situation in the region leads to a full-scale armed conflict, the US will focus on Asia, and then Europe will be left completely alone,” said Armin Papperger.
The head of Germany’s biggest arms company pointed out that for decades, European leaders have taken advantage of the fact that the United States will intervene in the event of a military threat in Europe, but “this will not happen again”.
Republicans in the US Congress blocked military aid to Ukraine and by doing so sent a “very clear message” which was “we are not paying for you anymore”.
According to him, if Donald Trump becomes the US president, “the pressure on Germany will be greater”, but the race to restore the country’s military power will continue, regardless of who gets to the White House.
US defense capability has faced its own challenges, among which Papperger highlighted growing political polarization.
“A big challenge for the next US president will be bringing the two sides together. It’s bad when the world’s biggest economy – and biggest defense power – is a divided nation,” said Armin Papperger.
The Rheinmetall chief also urged European countries to create large specialized arms pools to compete with American rivals.
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