In a Big blow for the Eurofighter Typhoon , manufactured by the British manufacturer BAE Systems in partnership with Airbus and Italian company Leonardo,Germany has made a deal for US-made F-35 aircraft as it orders a fleet capable of carrying a nuclear arsenal.
The €10bln Deal for 35 units of F-35A Lightning II jets is also being seen as a blow to the plan of developing a joint Franco-German fighter jet to be ready in the 2040s.
On Wednesday , the German parliament’s budget committee signed off the F-35 deal as part of a broader €100bn (£86bn) package of defence spending Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. Embassy in Germany Released to press saying ,
On December 14, 2022, Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support signed a purchase agreement with the United States Air Force for 35 F-35A Lightning II aircraft to be delivered between 2026 and 2029.
Though Berlin had announced in March it would buy 35 of the warplanes made by Lockheed Martin to replace its ageing Tornado fleet , “delays and additional costs” were among concerns of Germany’s Defense ministry , before signing of the deal.
These additional costs included modification to the existing airfield setup , suited for the induction of F-35 , and it was highly doubtful whether the necessary upgrades to Buechel air base, which will host the jets , could be completed by 2026, ambitious timeframe for the begin of delivery.
Germany had three options prior to the government’s decision were the new F-35, made by Lockheed Martin, the F/A-18, made by Boeing and the Eurofighter.
Citing NATO commitments , U.S. Embassy in Germany also said ,
The U.S. Foreign Military Sales Program will manage the procurement which includes mission planning systems, munitions, logistics, and training. Germany’s F-35 program will ensure Germany’s continued NATO commitments without interruption and will ensure NATO’s credible deterrence well into the future.
The first batch of aircraft is expected to be ready for delivery by 2026 and will be replacing the existing Tornado fleet , the only German jets capable of carrying US nuclear bombs and are stored in Germany only to be used in combat situations. Berlin is planning to phase the jet out between 2025 and 2030 , once it receives the complete fleet of 35 jets.
U.S. Embassy in Germany further added ,
The U.S.-German defense relationship has never been stronger and is a key pillar of NATO’s transatlantic partnership. Considering current security challenges, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, close collaboration between Allies is more critical than ever. The United States greatly values this opportunity to cooperate closely with Germany to enhance NATO’s deterrence and collective defense, improve Allied and Partner interoperability, and contribute to increased security in Europe and beyond.
The F35 deal is the first agreement Germany has inked , in the framework of the 100 billion euro ($106 billion) special fund that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had announced days after Russia initiated its special operation in Ukraine in February.
According to the Minister, the fund is intended to redress Germany's military's weapons and equipment backup to standard levels after decades of neglect since the end of the Cold War.
In a statement , the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the bloc had run out of military stockpiles as it provided Ukraine with an overwhelming amount of military support.
"This war against Ukraine has been a brutal wake-up for many of us," Josep Borrell told a defense conference in Brussels. "We realize that our military stockpiles have been quickly depleted due to years of under-investment."
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