{"text":[[{"start":9.4,"text":"Berlin is reviving efforts to buy American Tomahawk cruise missiles after the Pentagon scrapped plans to deploy a US battalion equipped with the weapons to Germany, leaving a gap in Europe’s deterrence against Russia."}],[{"start":21.65,"text":"The German government is hoping to persuade the Trump administration to agree to the sale of the Tomahawks together with their Typhon ground-launchers, according to people with knowledge of the German government’s strategy. "}],[{"start":33.349999999999994,"text":"Defence minister Boris Pistorius is planning a trip to Washington to revive Germany’s offer to buy the long-range systems, that was first submitted in July last year and to which the US has yet to respond, one of the people said. "}],[{"start":47.49999999999999,"text":"But they cautioned that the visit would depend on whether Pistorius can secure a meeting with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth — far from guaranteed given the deterioration in relations between Trump and Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war in Iran."}],[{"start":62.19999999999999,"text":"“The key thing is to have the strike capabilities in Europe,” a government insider said."}],[{"start":67.89999999999999,"text":"Another person suggested Berlin might be prepared to pay extra to secure the purchase. Japan and the Netherlands are already awaiting delivery of their Tomahawk orders. There may be a “temptation to throw money at the problem,” the person said."}],[{"start":81.89999999999999,"text":"The transactional approach highlights the sense of urgency in the German capital after the Pentagon last week said a US long-range fires battalion due to be deployed this year as part of prior Nato arrangements would instead be reassigned elsewhere. "}],[{"start":96.49999999999999,"text":"The cancellation came on top of Trump’s move to withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany, apparently in retaliation for Merz’s sharp criticism of the US war on Iran. "}],[{"start":107.14999999999999,"text":"The long-range fire deployment plan, agreed under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, had then been presented as a response to Vladimir Putin’s decision to station nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, putting Berlin within reach. "}],[{"start":124.14999999999999,"text":"There are currently no European ground-launched long-range systems immediately available. The UK has submarine-launched Tomahawks, which have a range of 1,600km and France has deployed a domestically built cruise missile with a range of 1,000km on its submarines."}],[{"start":141.25,"text":"Trump, who has repeatedly questioned his commitment to Nato, never formally recommitted to the planned deployment. The Iran war has also put pressure on US missile stockpiles. "}],[{"start":151.55,"text":"Even so, the German government hoped the Nato deployment would go ahead, especially after showing its willingness to take on more of the security burden within the alliance. "}],[{"start":161.35000000000002,"text":"Since taking office last year, Merz, a longtime Atlanticist, has pledged more than €750bn for Germany’s armed forces and vowed to meet new Nato spending targets well ahead of schedule. Berlin has also overtaken Washington as the largest provider of military aid to Ukraine."}],[{"start":180.15000000000003,"text":"The public rift between Merz and Trump has dashed hopes for the deployment plans. Instead, Berlin hopes its transactional approach can at least persuade Washington to sell the weapons."}],[{"start":191.55000000000004,"text":"This strategy revealed Berlin’s lack of preparation as well as the dearth of alternative options at its disposal, said Carlo Masala, professor of international politics at the Bundeswehr University in Munich. “It won’t fly,” he said. Washington had given “no answer so far” to Germany’s purchase request and was now even less likely to approve it after having “emptied its stocks against Iran,” he added."}],[{"start":216.20000000000005,"text":"Merz himself admitted stockpiles would be a problem. Asked about the Tomahawks deployment on Sunday evening, he said the Americans “do not have enough for themselves right now”."}],[{"start":226.05000000000004,"text":"Pistorius announced on a visit to Washington in July 2025 that Germany had made an official request to buy Typhon missile launchers — a truck-borne container made by Lockheed Martin that can launch a variety of long-range weapons, including Tomahawks."}],[{"start":242.35000000000005,"text":"At the time, the Bundeswehr said that acquiring the launchers and the corresponding missiles would “significantly strengthen” the German armed forces’ capabilities in the realm of deep precision strikes, enhancing their ability to deter Russia. "}],[{"start":255.00000000000006,"text":"“It would clearly demonstrate to a potential aggressor that, in the event of an attack, their own command facilities, military airfields or launch sites for long-range missiles would not be safe from retaliation,” it said."}],[{"start":267.3500000000001,"text":"Politico later reported that Berlin planned to buy three of the launch systems plus 400 Tomahawk Block VB missiles, citing what it said was a leaked defence ministry planning document. "}],[{"start":279.25000000000006,"text":"Japan and the Netherlands are facing delays in the delivery of Tomahawks."}],[{"start":284.25000000000006,"text":"A German defence ministry spokesman said on Monday that the purchase of commercially available systems was “still planned” and that a preliminary enquiry had been made with the US government. He declined to say whether Washington had responded, saying only that it was “an ongoing process.”"}],[{"start":300.00000000000006,"text":"He said that this commercial “pillar” of Berlin’s plans addressed “precisely the same capability that was intended to be stationed — and which, in all likelihood, still will be. After all, we are not talking about a final cancellation.”"}],[{"start":313.90000000000003,"text":"Other options under discussion include accelerating the development of European long-fire capabilities through Elsa, a joint programme involving Germany, France, Poland, the UK, Italy and Sweden. Berlin is also looking into how it could leverage Ukraine’s own capabilities. "}],[{"start":332.55,"text":"But none of these alternatives is available in the short term."}],[{"start":336.25,"text":"The Pentagon and the US defence secretary declined to comment. "}],[{"start":339.75,"text":"Additional reporting by Steff Chavez in Washington"}],[{"start":348.29999999999995,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778462405_7217.mp3"}