A German student organization, the Ring Christlich-Demokratischer Studenten (RCDS), is calling for funding in the finance package to develop state-backed combat drones at German universities.
According to Lukas Honemann, the federal chairman of the RCDS, in an interview with the “Stern”, “From AI to combat drones, what is researched at German universities could provide decisive advantages.” He added, “The civilian clause must be abolished once and for all and the money for military expenditures must also flow into research.”
Many German universities are proud of their strict ban on military research. According to the German Academy of Science and Engineering (Acatech), 77 of the 318 universities and colleges still have their own civilian clauses. Honemann referred to a case at the University of Kassel, where a cooperation with the arms companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall was ended in the end of 2023 due to a civilian clause that had been decided a few years earlier.
Honemann said, “That weakens Germany in innovation – economically and militarily.” The Union should therefore create incentives for the abolition of the civilian clause in the coalition negotiations. “We need funding programs for military research at universities – who participates, gets money and who holds on to the ideological civilian clause, doesn’t get any.”
The CDU/CSU and SPD are expected to negotiate a new coalition agreement by the end of March. The SPD had also previously made demands for more military research at universities. The president of the Science Minister’s Conference, Bettina Martin (SPD), called in January in the “Handelsblatt” for a new openness towards military research, citing the “Zeitenwende”.