Christian Freuding to take command of Germany’s armed forces in February
Germany has selected army chief Christian Freuding as its next inspector general, with the handover scheduled for February 2027. He will succeed Carsten Breuer as the Bundeswehr pursues personnel growth and new military technologies. Freuding’s recent work has focused on unmanned systems, electronic warfare and digital command, drawing on developments in Ukraine.
Geopolitics··Night
The handover is scheduled for February
Christian Freuding, the commander of Germany’s army, has been chosen as the next inspector general of the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces. He will move into the country’s highest-ranking military post in February 2027, extending his responsibilities from the army to the whole force.[1], [2]
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced the choice on 5 November. Freuding will replace Carsten Breuer, who has been elected chairman of the Military Committee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. Pistorius highlighted the incoming commander’s knowledge of technological changes in the war in Ukraine and of how those developments could be applied within German forces.[1]
Ukraine assistance preceded his army command
Freuding has led the army since October 2025. Before that he coordinated German military assistance to Ukraine and ran the Defence Ministry’s planning and leadership staff between 2023 and 2025. Earlier commands included the armoured demonstration brigade at Munster. The army’s first drone regiment is among the initiatives associated with his present command.[1]
During the preceding week he took more than 70 German and Dutch generals to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They examined defence plans and technologies including unmanned systems, interceptors, tracked logistics vehicles and artificial intelligence in command systems. His five priorities are electronic warfare, unmanned systems, protection against low-flying threats, indirect and deep fires, and the digital command linking them.[1]
Freuding, who is 55, trained in army reconnaissance and studied political science. His earlier career included company, battalion and brigade commands, as well as deployments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan. Breuer was elected to the NATO post in September.[2]
Personnel and procurement plans await implementation
Procurement programmes are being reassessed against those priorities. A digitalisation project worth billions of euros has stalled amid technical problems, according to dpa. The Bundeswehr has roughly 186000 troops and aims for 260000 active personnel plus 200000 reservists. Parliamentary defence committee chairman Thomas Röwekamp stressed the task of turning political decisions into military capabilities. Freuding’s selection became public while he was attending a memorial ceremony at Ehrenbreitstein fortress in Koblenz.[1]
Related columns
For more information on this topic, you can read the related columns.
