Germany Drops MAUS EW System Project Citing Lessons From War in Ukraine

On January 28, Germany rejected a project valued at about €600 million, known as MAUS (Mobiles Aufklärungsunterstützungssystem).

The Ministry of Defense had planned to purchase up to 90 mobile electronic warfare systems, but lawmakers blocked the decision for several reasons, Defence Network reports.

The key reason cited was lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. Lawmaker Andreas Schwarz stated that the proposed concept was outdated, arguing that deploying lightly armored electronic warfare vehicles to the front line no longer makes sense.

Instead, he said, the military needs better-protected armored vehicles that ensure crew safety and offer greater range for detecting and suppressing enemy signals.

The potential rejection became apparent last year when it was announced that the Budget Committee would not support the plan. The Defense Ministry had been seeking a replacement for the aging HUMMEL systems.

Initially, the plan called for the purchase of 40 MAUS systems and two prototypes for €596 million. The Ministry pushed for a direct contract with Rohde & Schwarz, arguing that only the company could deliver the systems quickly.

However, lawmakers expressed mistrust of the contractor, citing earlier projects, including DLBO, in which the company failed to deliver promised equipment on time.