Germany buys Chinook helicopters in arms procurement drive

Germany’s defense minister says the country plans to buy Boeing Chinook transport helicopters as part of a massive procurement drive to upgrade its military. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced shortly after Russia invaded in February that Germany would commit 100 billion euros ($107 billion) to a special fund for its military and to raise its defense spending above the minimum 2% of gross domestic product that NATO countries had committed to and on which Berlin has long lagged. The governing coalition and the main opposition party on Sunday reached a deal to move ahead with the plan, which is becoming more concrete. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht told parliament Wednesday that the Chinook is “proven” and “the backbone of European air transport.”