Ready, Set, Drone: German Uni's and the Potential of Military Research
- Funded by the state, German universities potentially on the brink of creating battle drones
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, as the Bundestag sets to greenlight a substantial military spending bump. With funds galloping in, questions reign over the smartest use of this dough. The Ring Christlich-Demokratischer Studenten (RCDS) is among the first to propose investing this cash in military research at German universities.
Lukas Honemann, federal chairman of RCDS, uttered some strong words to stern: "It's about time universities obliterate the civil clause and accept military spending for research."
BYE BYE, CIVIL CLAUSE
A tradition that harks back to the end of World War II when the Americans instituted a blanket ban on military research, many German universities pride themselves on their military research prohibitions. As per the German Academy of Science and Engineering (Acatech), an impressive 77 out of 318 universities and universities of applied sciences still adhere to their "civil clause," a term requiring clarification, including prestigious research institutions such as the University of Cologne, HU and TU Berlin, or RWTH Aachen.
Despite, the partnership between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall with the University of Kassel ended last year, due to the university's civil clause adoption a few years earlier. They had collaborated for years prior.
Honemann asserts that this weakens Germany's competitive edge - both economically and militarily. "In the coalition talks, CDU/CSU should establish enticements to abolish the civil clause," he added. "We need funding programs for military research at universities. The bang-up joints that accept will get cash; the stick-in-the-muds holding out won't."
ALL ABOARD, RESEARCH SHIP!
RCDS champions a change in research policy in light of the dramatically altered global political landscape. "Science should be unfettered - unrestricted, unsolicited," Federal Chairman Honemann beamed. "From AI to combat drones - what's done at German universities might offer pivotal advantages." Developing these innovations in-house is more cost-effective than buying them later from abroad.
CDU/CSU and SPD are still hammering out a new coalition agreement until the end of March. Lately, the SPD has also called for more military research at German universities [1]. The president of the Science Ministers' Conference, Bettina Martin (SPD), advocated for increased openness to military research in the Handelsblatt in January, citing the "turning point" in times. The CDU wants schools to work hand-in-hand with the Bundeswehr more closely [2].
References:
- #
- #
The Commission has also been consulted on the draft budget, considering the increased military spending and potential investments in military research at German universities. The Christian Social Union (CSU) has joined the debate, suggesting funding programs for military research at universities to enhance Germany's competitive edge. With the coalition talks between CDU/CSU and SPD ongoing until the end of March, the SPD has recently called for more military research at German universities, following the CDU's proposal for closer cooperation between schools and the Bundeswehr.
