Germany’s air force has ordered 75 US cruise missiles at a cost of eight billion euros in the latest effort to build up Berlin’s defences in the face of a potential Russia-Nato war.

Germany has ordered 75 powerful cruise missiles at a cost of eight billion euros.

The JASSM-ER missiles have an estimated range of 900km, making them a near equivalent of the Taurus missile system, which Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has refused to send to Ukraine.

It comes after Boris Pistorius, the German defence minister, vowed to ensure that his country is “kriegstuchtig” – war-ready – via a major increase in funds and resources for the Bundeswehr, the German army.

There are concerns that a war between Russia and Nato could erupt within five to eight years.

It was not immediately clear whether Berlin had ordered the new missiles for stockpile purposes or to use them as replacements for an outgoing shipment of missiles to another country.

German media has previously reported that Mr Scholz has held talks with the UK on a “Ringtausch,” or ring-exchange, whereby Taurus missiles are sent to Britain, which then sends Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine.

Although the German government has sought to play down those reports, such a move would allow Germany to indirectly provide Kyiv with more long-range missiles without breaking Mr Scholz’s red line on handing over Taurus missiles.

Bild, the German tabloid, said the JASSM-ER missiles could potentially be used as a replacement for the Taurus missiles stockpile, citing sources familiar with the deal.

It added that Berlin has been interested in buying JASSM-ER missiles from Washington since 2022, and stated that a formal purchase contract is expected to be signed in the autumn.

The JASSM-ER is an air-launched cruise missile, developed by Lockheed Martin for the United States Air Force [USAF]. Armed with a 1,000lb [450kg] warhead, the missiles went into service in the USAF in 2009 and have also been sent to armies in Finland, Poland and Austria.

If sent to Germany, they would be fitted to its supply of F-35 fighter jets, while they may also be deployed in the future by the Dutch and Japanese armies.

A variant of the JASSM-ER was first deployed in combat in 2018 during the Syrian civil war, when the missiles were fired on chemical weapons targets operated by the Assad regime.

The German defence ministry did not immediately respond to Bild’s report.

Scholz says debate about Germany's Ukraine support is 'ridiculous'

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sharply criticized the debate in recent weeks about German support for Ukraine and the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles in particular.

"The debate in Germany is nothing short of ridiculous," the chancellor said on Tuesday at the Europe 2024 conference in Berlin.

"This is embarrassing for us as a country." The discussion is not understood outside of Germany, Scholz said. He pointed out that Germany is Ukraine's second-largest arms supplier. This must first be recognized, he said.

Scholz has repeatedly spoken out against the delivery of the long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, despite pleas from Kiev, saying it has the potential to escalate the conflict and drag Germany into the war.

The chancellor has faced sharp criticism from the conservative opposition bloc CDU/CSU as well as from his coalition partners, the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP). The debate has been going on for more than three weeks now.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warned that the debate about the Taurus missiles overshadows Ukraine's essential defence needs.

Sufficient artillery ammunition, longer-range missile artillery and air defence are the truly existential issues, the minister said on broadcaster Deutschlandfunk on Tuesday morning.

According to him, the unity of both the governing coalition and the governing factions in their support for Ukraine is unbroken.

However, he said the Taurus debate could be damaging: "This discussion has been carried to extremes for months."

"There was no need to get to the point of ruling it out once and for all. However, I believe that it must be clear that support for Ukraine in other areas is more important," Pistorius said.