The German army's acquisitions department has 1,100 vacancies, about one in six of its total workforce, at a time when the Bundeswehr has been plagued by embarrassing revelations about outdated and faulty equipment.

A total of 1,100 of the 6,500 positions in the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Production for the Bundeswehr in the city of Koblenz have not been filled, the Sunday edition of Bild reported, citing the Defence Ministry.

Last year, 640 positions were filled, but in the same year 514 people at the office retired.

The government coalition is currently wrangling over increasing the budget for the Bundeswehr, but an opposition politician told Bild that even if Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen managed to secure extra funding, the lack of staff to buy the new equipment would mean it would be no use to her. "Given the staffing bottleneck, Mrs von der Leyen could not even spend the billions she's demanded," Green politician Tobias Lindner said. Lindner also described the recruitment process for the acquisitions department as outdated and demanded it be changed to speed it up.