Episode 41: General Carsten Breuer and Benedikt Franke on Germany’s 2029 Deadline
From Memos to the President by Ylli Bajraktari, Special Competitive Studies Project - SCSP, SCSP
February 19, 2026 · 18 min · Season 2 · Episode 2
About this episode
The episode discusses Germany's urgent need to enhance its military readiness by 2029 amidst rising threats from Russia.
In this special episode of Memos to the President, recorded live at the Munich Security Conference, SCSP CEO Ylli Bajraktari is joined by a very special co-host: Benedikt Franke, CEO and Vice Chairman of the Munich Security Conference. Together, they sit down with General Carsten Breuer, the Chief of Defense of the German Bundeswehr, to discuss the most dangerous security environment in 40 years. The conversation centers on the "2029 Culmination Point." General Breuer provides a candid assessment of why Germany has a five-year window to become "war-ready" to deter a real and growing threat from Russia. From filling the "pit holes" left by decades of underspending to the "hard choices" of buying American tech off-the-shelf versus building a sovereign European industrial base, this briefing covers the critical roadmap for the future of the Alliance.
People in this episode
Host: Ylli Bajraktari
Guests: Benedikt Franke, General Carsten Breuer
Topics covered
- security environment
- Germany
- military readiness
- Russia threat
- defense strategy
- European industrial base
Keywords
- Germany
- military readiness
- Russia
- defense
- Munich Security Conference
- 2029
- security environment
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Munich Security Conference, German Bundeswehr
Places: Germany
More episodes of Memos to the President
- Episode 43: Jensen Huang on Generative Computing, Re-industrialization, & Physical AI · April 30, 2026 · 43 min
- Episode 43: Senator Mike Rounds and Chris Malachowsky on AI, Education, and National Security · March 19, 2026 · 38 min
- Episode 42: Dr. Dario Gil on The Genesis Mission, AI, Quantum, & America’s R&D Engine · February 23, 2026 · 32 min
- Episode 40: Dhruva Jaishankar on The Future of US-India Ties · February 10, 2026 · 45 min
- Episode 39: Secretary Chris Wright on Seizing the Fusion Moment · November 4, 2025 · 25 min
- Episode 38: A Conversation with Brian Moore · October 16, 2025 · 31 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Memos to the President podcast page.