Even 25 years after the introduction of women into combat units, positions of command over warships, fighter jets, and armored units in the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) remain predominantly held by men. This was reported by Focus, citing its own inquiry to the Bundeswehr.
Specifically, the Air Force currently has only three female fighter pilots serving among the force’s fleet of over 200 jets. None of the pilots undergoing training for the new, high-tech F-35 fighter jets from the United States are women. In the helicopter division, however, twelve women are currently operational out of a total of nearly 300 helicopters.
The Navy has seen a recent breakthrough, with a woman commanding one of the eleven frigates for the first time. Furthermore, a woman commands one of the ten mine-countermeasures vessels, while another female officer commands one of the six submarines. On the corvettes, however, only male officers currently hold command positions.
In the Army, there are currently two women serving as Leopard 2 tank commanders, overseeing a typical combat tank out of approximately 300 available systems. According to the Bundeswehr, nine women are trained as tank commanders and serving as unit leaders across the six armored battalions, with twelve more women holding this qualification in other roles. Notably, no woman has succeeded in the physically demanding selection process to deploy as a commando soldier in the Special Forces Commandos (KSK), despite five having attempted it.
A spokeswoman for the Bundeswehr in Cologne emphasized that further strengthening the proportion of women within the Armed Forces is an essential and clear goal, especially considering the increased personnel numbers being aimed for. She stated that female soldiers are already integrated into daily duties across all career and rank groups and possess equal opportunities.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), who chairs the European Parliament’s Defense Committee and served as the chair of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee from 2021 to 2024, commented that these figures did not surprise her. She suggested that while there is movement, it is happening very slowly. She described the Bundeswehr as an extremely male-dominated environment, noting that changes cannot be implemented as quickly as is typical in civilian life. Strack-Zimmermann believes women possess the potential to excel in every facet of the Bundeswehr, and they have demonstrated they can do so, but achieving this requires sustained effort.
Jeanne Dillschneider, a Green Party politician and defense policy expert, stated that the Bundeswehr requires female role models. However, the current statistics indicate that there are still too few outside of support roles.
Historically, women were only able to join the medical and military music corps on a voluntary basis in 1975. Following a landmark court ruling, all career paths, including combat units, have been open to them since 2001.
