Germany's weapons export policy has become "unpredictable," to the point where pan-European projects have become difficult to manage or have even been prevented, the head of the German Security and Defense Industry Association (BDSV), Hans Christoph Atzpodien, said in an interview with news agency dpa, DW reported.

According to him, the defense industry was suffering as a result of "purely politically motivated issues," referring to the government's decision to first stop export licenses for future orders to countries involved in the Yemen conflict in January. This was followed byfurther restrictions being levied on existing projects after the suspected murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

"We're asking the government to tell us what is going to happen with these orders," he said, adding that he could well imagine "demanding compensation."

In a statement released just before Christmas, the BDSV criticized Germany's "restrictive export controls," which it sees a go-it-alone approach by Germany that jeopardizes an increasingly pan-European defense industry.

Meanwhile, figures from the Economy Ministry show that weapons exports in 2018  dropped for a third year in a row to €4.62 billion ($5.3 billion) from €6.24 billion in 2017.

Exports reached a record high in 2015, amounting to €7.86 billion.