Unlike GSG 9, founded in 1972, the new force is also said to be capable of use in “normal police operations”.

The creation of a de facto paramilitary police force in Germany is part of an extensive domestic and foreign militarisation campaign. Apart from increasing the defence budget by €8 billion, the federal cabinet also resolved last Wednesday to upgrade the security apparatus. Next year, the interior ministry’s budget will grow by 6.7 percent to €6.6 billion, and the police, federal investigative police agency and federal intelligence service will expand to cover a total of 750 posts and receive an additional €328 million by 2019. More than €200 million of this will be directly invested in equipping the secret service and the police.