FAQs on exports of military equipment

The legal bases governing Federal Government export controls for military equipment and the related careful screening of individual cases are the War Weapons Control Act (KrWaffKontrG), the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (AWG), the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (AWV), the Council Common Position of the EU defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment of 8 December 2008 (“EU Common Position”) in the version of the Council decision of 14 April 2025, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and the Political Principles Adopted by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Export of War Weapons and Other Military Equipment of 2000 in the version of 26 June 2019 (hereinafter: “Political Principles”).

These rules set out the details of the licencing process for the export of military equipment and war weapons. Further to this, the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance contains an “Export List”, which specifies all miliary equipment requiring an export licence.

The ​Basic Law also provides in Article 26(2) that certain weapons designed for warfare (i.e. war weapons) may be manufactured, transported or marketed only with the permission of the Federal Government.

Basically, companies wishing to export military equipment must always obtain a licence for that export. This is stipulated in the Foreign Trade and Payments Act and the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance. All military equipment and war weapons covered by this are cited in the Export List and are thus precisely defined.

Like the EU’s Common Military List, the Export List is based on the list of the ​“Wassenaar Arrangement” of 1995. In the Wassenaar Arrangement, which was co-authored by Germany, 42 countries agreed on a uniform list of military equipment to be subjected to controls.

In principle, all military equipment is subject to export controls. However, some types of military equipment are also war weapons.

War weapons are subject to additional restrictions. For example, their manufacture or transportation within Germany is subject to authorisation. What types of military equipment are also defined as war weapons is clearly stated in the War Weapons List. The War Weapons List is an annex to the War Weapons Control Act. Examples of war weapons include combat aircraft, tanks, fully automatic small firearms and warships.

Types of military equipment which are not war weapons are called “other military equipment”. They are not subject to a special authorisation under the War Weapons Control Act, but only to a licence under the Foreign Trade and Payments Act. The list of “other military equipment” is long: It includes pistols and revolvers, hunting and sporting rifles, radar and radiocommunications technology, as well as certain explosive substances and intermediate products destined for military deployment.

A distinction must be made here between war weapons and other military equipment. In the case of war weapons (see preceding question), there is no statutory entitlement to an export licence. The Federal Government will first examine each case very carefully to ascertain whether the applicant is reliable and whether the export jeopardises peace or German obligations under international law.

In the case of other military equipment, the export rules of the Foreign Trade and Payments Act and the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance apply. The principle here is that foreign trade and payments are basically unrestricted. This means that in principle applicants have a legal entitlement to receive an export licence. However, the Federal Government can still refuse to issue a licence in an individual case if, pursuant to the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Section 4 subsection 1 figures 1-3), the security interests of Germany are endangered, the peaceful co-existence of nations is disrupted, or a substantial disturbance to Germany’s foreign relations is likely.

An important point here is that the Federal Government’s decision is based on the EU Council Common Position and the “Political Principles” (cf. next question).

The Foreign Trade and Payments Act and the War Weapons Control Act lay down the basic statutory framework for the licensing of exports of military equipment. In addition to these general rules on export controls, it is important to use recognised, viable and transparent criteria for decision-making when each individual export of military equipment is scrutinised.

Here, the Federal Government can draw on two key catalogues of criteria: The Political Principles of the Federal Government and the EU Common Position.

The “Political Principles Adopted by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Export of War Weapons and Other Military Equipment of 26 June 2019” (PDF, 194 KB) emphasise the following key aspects for decision-making:

- observance of human rights in the country of destination

- consideration of the internal and external situation in the country of destination

- the recipient country’s conduct toward the international community concerning matters such as the fight against international terrorism and organised crime; the extent to which the recipient country meets its international obligations as well as aspects of non-proliferation, military weapons, and arms control

- restraint on licences for and a strict control of exports to “third countries” (countries outside the EU, NATO and the NATO-equivalent countries of Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Switzerland) regarding the human rights situation, and the security policy interests of Germany and the international community

- Germany’s special interest in the ongoing capability for cooperation of Germany’s defence industry in the EU and NATO

The ​EU Common Position of 2008 in the 2025 version contains eight criteria for decisions on export applications and is an integral element of the Political Principles. It takes account of the situation of the relevant country in the region, including the significance of the exports in question for the preservation of regional peace, security and stability. The examination also attaches special significance to the observance of human rights in the country of destination and the dangers of misuse of the specific military equipment.

The so-called advance inquiry practice has become customary in the course of the past several decades. By making an advance inquiry, companies can obtain an orientation at an early stage as to whether a prospective export project can be awarded an export licence. Companies use this instrument, for example, to take part in tendering procedures or when contracts are being initiated. Advance inquiries are an important instrument to enable German companies to take part in international competition.

Decisions on advance inquiries are basically taken in accordance with the same criteria as decisions on export licence applications. The answering of advance inquiries does not amount to a decision on the export, and is not a substitute for it. If the export project is to be realised later on, when applying for the export licence, the exporter can make reference to the previous positive decision on the advance inquiry. The responses to advance inquiries are always made subject to the proviso that the substantive and legal situation may change.
Advance inquiries relating to war weapons must be submitted to the Federal Foreign Office; advance inquiries relating to other military equipment must be filed with the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control. The answers to advance inquiries are governed by the same criteria as applications for export licences.

The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that ongoing licensing procedures and related evaluation, coordination and decision-making processes by the Federal Government, including potential decisions on advance inquiries, are part of the core field of executive responsibility. For this reason, the Federal Government does not provide any information about advance inquiries, on the grounds of constitutional law.

Also, the process involves a great deal of commercial and operational secrets of companies – which are also protected by constitutional law – when bidding processes and contract negotiations are still underway.

The Federal Government reports about final positive licensing decisions and the main data regarding approved export projects.

Useful and effective controls of military equipment are only possible if it is ensured that the military equipment provided remains with the consignee in the country of destination and is not passed on to other recipients and/or to other countries without permission from the Federal Republic of Germany – e.g. by being sold on by a consignee.

The “end-use control” ensures that the war weapons and other military equipment stay where they should. Every decision on whether military equipment may be exported is preceded by a careful review. All of the available information is fully scrutinised and assessed. The recipient makes a declaration confirming that exports from Germany will stay in his country.

If the Federal Government has doubts about the certainty of the final destination of the military equipment, the corresponding export applications are rejected.

In order to improve the controls on the end-use of war weapons and other military equipment, the Federal Government established the possibility of “post-shipment controls” for certain German exports of military equipment in 2015. These are controls which can take place on the spot following the supply of military equipment to the relevant state recipient. This makes it easier to detect and deter the passing on of such equipment to third parties. If on-the-spot controls identify irregularities, the third country is in principle excluded from supplies of further war weapons and similar military equipment.

In 2021, the instrument of post-shipment controls was evaluated, following the initially agreed pilot phase, and was retained on a permanent basis.

In contrast to an individual licence, a global export licence permits particularly reliable exporters to make a large number of exports or transfers to various recipients based in one or in several countries. Global export licences are granted only to exporters which are subject to special controls by the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control. As a rule, the global licences permit shipments of military equipment to EU, NATO or NATO-equivalent countries.

In order to create transparency about decisions on export controls, the Federal Government publishes a comprehensive report about its export policy for military equipment twice a year. Further to this, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy also publishes press releases on data and developments in export control policy. In this way, the Federal Government furnishes information to the Bundestag and the public about German policy on the export of military equipment and on the licences issued for the export of conventional military equipment in the reference period. These transparency measures enable the Federal Government to create the basis for an objective and informed public debate on the issue of exports of military equipment. The reports and press releases can be accessed on this page.

In internal and cross-border conflicts, by far the greatest share of casualties are caused by small arms and light weapons. In many cases, the misuse of small arms and light weapons by criminal or militant groups impedes economic and social development and frequently contributes to a violent escalation of conflicts. The Federal Government therefore applies particularly strict standards when issuing licences for exports of small arms and light weapons to third countries. For example, the more stringent Political Principles from June 2019 stipulate that in principle no licences are to be issued for exports of small arms to third countries.

Starting with the 2021 Military Equipment Export Report, the figures for the licensing of light weapons have been included as a separate category.

In order further to improve the export controls for small arms and light weapons and to reduce the risk of their dissemination, the Federal Government has since 2015 oriented its licensing policy to the “Small Arms Principles” (Principles for the Issue of Licences for the Export of Small and Light Weapons, Related Ammunition and Corresponding Manufacturing Equipment to Third Countries). The Small Arms Principles state for example that no licences to export components and technology to third countries (e.g. in the context of the granting of licences to manufacture) will be granted where such exports would lead to the establishment of a new manufacturing line for small arms or corresponding ammunition in the respective country. The Federal Government will continue to devote special attention to the control of small arms and light weapons exports.

Also, for the export of small arms and light weapons to third countries, the “New for Old” principle is applied. If the recipient wishes to obtain small arms or light weapons, he needs to discard and destroy old weapons of the same type in order to be sent the new ones. The aim is to prevent the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. In cases in which the new purchase covers a credible need on the part of the recipient for more equipment, and old weapons do not need to be destroyed, the recipient has to make a binding promise to destroy the new weapons when they are discarded – the “alternative” principle of “New, destroy when discarded”. Also, recipients in third countries require the agreement of the Federal Government before they are allowed to hand small arms or light weapons on to other recipients in the country of destination than those covered by the export licence.

The Federal Government advocates a harmonisation of policy on the export of military equipment at European level with a view to controls which are as far-reaching as possible. Germany is advocating the widespread use of the principle “New for old” and its variant “New, destroy when discarded” and the system of post-shipment controls at European and international level.