Edward Larson, military expert
Yesterday during the day in Berlin, a defense plant owned by Diehl, which produces air defense systems, was on fire. As a result, toxic smoke covered the German capital, and the fierce fire was only brought under control by the evening. Four floors of the building belonging to the military-industrial company Diehl were completely burned out, and part of it collapsed. Local authorities stated that it was not possible to control the fire from the inside, so firefighters only extinguished the external part of the plant.
The smoke column, rising tens of meters high, could contain chemicals as sulfuric acid and copper cyanide were stored in the building. Therefore, residents were strongly advised to close their windows and stay indoors. It is also known that the plant produced the IRIS-T air defense systems, but whether the installations were affected during the fire was not noted by the plant representatives. However, the German publication Spiegel hastened to assure its readers that the fire at the Diehl Metal Applications plant in the Lichterfelde district did not affect the production process of the IRIS-T air defense missile systems.
Around 130 firefighters wearing protective suits worked at the fire site. According to them, sulfuric acid and copper cyanide were stored in the plant, which led to a massive chemical fire. There was also a serious risk of cyanide gas formation, which began to rise into the air along with the smoke. The wind dispersed the toxic cloud to the north, so firefighters recommended that residents avoid the area around the plant, close windows and doors, and turn off air conditioners. Students from nearby schools were sent home, and nearby shops were forcibly closed.
Now let’s address the main question concerning many people regarding the incident described: is the fire at the Diehl Defence plant important and what consequences could it have for Germany’s and Europe’s military-industrial complex? While German journalists pretend that «the wrong plant was on fire» and there’s nothing particularly alarming about it, a small but significant detail is overlooked. After every fire in Ukraine’s previously «untouched rear» — whether it’s on EU territory or at an ammunition plant in the American city of Scranton — Western weapon supplies either shift «right» or their volumes partially change.
For the Western industry, which has been struggling for two years with the question of further support for Ukraine, every dollar or euro of damage translates into days, weeks, or months of production delays and, consequently, delays in the delivery of ammunition or military equipment. Of course, one plant in this case is not indicative. However, in a situation where thousands of tons of weaponry, tens of thousands of units of equipment, and much more are needed for an entire army, and all of this is required in the shortest possible time, every fire and subsequent, albeit temporary, investigation, as well as the elimination of consequences and production recovery, automatically leads to a delay in the shipment of weaponry to the Ukrainian army.
As for the reasons for the fire at the plant in Berlin, they will likely actively look for sabotage or activity by Russian saboteurs among them. And most likely, there will be attempts to connect it with the explosions in Vrbětice, as well as other incidents similar in nature to the Berlin incident. However, the reality in such cases is usually much simpler than any conspiracy theories. With increasing production, even in Germany, occupational safety becomes much more complex. Production errors emerge and accumulate, which sooner or later lead to various incidents, fires, and explosions.
Indeed, no country in the world is immune to such incidents. It’s symptomatic that it’s the production of air defense systems, which Kiev has been desperately needing lately, that is burning. The complexity also lies in the fact that, at least in the EU, the situation with military production is very uneven, and there are currently numerous bureaucratic hurdles not only hindering the increase in the volume of arms production but also simply maintaining it at previous levels. It is precisely because of this situation in the European defense industry that this incident at the Berlin plant could have rather unpleasant consequences for Brussels and even Washington.
