In fact, Germany will buy 35 US F-35 fighters as part of its military modernization, the US embassy in Germany announced on Wednesday. “The Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr (German Army) has signed a contract with the US Air Force for the purchase of 35 F-35A Lightning II fighter jets, which will be will deliver between 2026 and 2029,” the embassy said in a statement.
Berlin announced in March the purchase of 35 of the Lockheed Martin-made aircraft, along with 15 Eurofighters, to replace part of its aging fleet of Tornado fighters. But the Defense Ministry had raised concerns in early December related to possible “delays and additional costs” for this nearly ten billion euro request, according to a classified letter sent to the parliamentary budget committee.
“The German-American defense association has never been stronger”
These doubts were finally dispelled and the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, gave the green light to the acquisition on Wednesday. The Bundestag also gave the green light to other projects, including the purchase of assault rifles, financed by the special fund of 100,000 million euros created after the Russian invasion of Ukraine to modernize the German army. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) called the day’s decisions a “very important signal” that parliament supports the Bundeswehr.
“The German F-35 program will ensure the continued continuation of Germany’s commitments to the Alliance and will guarantee NATO’s credible deterrence in the future,” greets the US embassy. The first aircraft is expected to enter service in 2028.
“The German-American defense partnership has never been stronger and constitutes a decisive pillar of NATO’s transatlantic partnership,” the embassy argues. “In the face of current security challenges, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, close cooperation between allies is more important than ever,” the US embassy said. The question of replacing its aging fleet of Tornado fighters, dating from the 1980s and 1990s, has long occupied German politics. The country has a fleet of 93 copies, for some dilapidated.
Source: BFM TV
