German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius expects to sign contracts to replenish the German army with howitzers to replace those delivered to Ukraine last year several months earlier than originally planned.

"If everything goes well, contracts for new howitzers will be signed by the end of next month," Pistorius said in an interview with ARD.

Pistorius, who took office in January, did not specify the number of weapons to be ordered. Last year, the German military handed over 14 self-propelled howitzers made by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann to Kyiv. 

Pistorius's predecessor, Christine Lambrecht, planned to submit the order for the new howitzers to parliament for approval in mid-2023, according to a defence source.

Pistorius also confirmed that the Bundeswehr needs more money than before, "because otherwise we will not be able to perform tasks that have not been performed for 30 years."

Pistorius wants to significantly increase the defence budget and demands an additional €10 billion from the government for the Bundeswehr (Ukr).

It was also reported that Germany intends to purchase eight IRIS-T air defence missile systems for its armed forces.