Dhe federal government wants to equip the air force with F-35 stealth jets as part of a modernization program worth billions. The aircraft from the manufacturer Lockheed Martin are to be procured as the successor model to the Tornado fleet introduced more than 40 years ago, as the German Press Agency learned on Monday from government circles in Berlin.
The F-35 is considered the most modern combat aircraft in the world and is also purchased for Germany’s so-called nuclear participation, a NATO deterrent concept in which allies have access to US nuclear bombs. Due to a special shape and outer coating, the machine is difficult for enemy radar to detect.
According to dpa information, it is planned to buy up to 35 of the stealth jets. The Tornado, which has been used up to now and can only be kept operational with increasing effort, has also been used in the Bundeswehr for electronic air combat – the disruption, suppression and combating of enemy air defense positions. According to information from the German Press Agency, further Eurofighters are to be purchased for this task, 15 according to the status of the project. However, the manufacturer Airbus still has to technically equip these in the next few years, which is considered to be extremely demanding.
Previous DoD plans included purchasing the US F-18 aircraft, which had yet to be certified for use with nuclear weapons. After a conversation between Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht and Chancellor Olaf Scholz in January (both SPD), a broader inspection order was issued. The F-35 was also considered. It is already certified for nuclear weapons and equipped with limited electronic warfare.
One-time “special fund” created because of the Ukraine war
Earlier concerns of the federal government that the purchase of the F-35 could counteract the joint plans with France to build a European “combat aircraft of the future” (FCAS/ Future Combat Air System) have now receded into the background and, from Berlin’s point of view, seem largely to be the case invalidated. In the case of the F-35, it was recently pointed out that NATO partners in Europe also use the machine and that “synergy effects” are possible in operation.
The traffic light coalition partners had agreed on the procurement of a Tornado successor model in the coalition agreement. “We will procure a successor system for the Tornado fighter aircraft at the beginning of the 20th legislative period. We will objectively and conscientiously accompany the procurement and certification process with a view to Germany’s nuclear participation,” stated the SPD, Greens and FDP.
Officially never confirmed, but a kind of open secret: 20 thermonuclear B61 gravitational bombs of the US armed forces are said to be stored in Büchel in the Eifel, which so far can be latched under German tornadoes.
In response to the war in Ukraine and the threats by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin against the West, Chancellor Scholz announced a one-time “special fund” of 100 billion euros and a significant increase in annual defense spending. In the future, more than two percent of the gross domestic product is to be invested in defense every year.
At the end of February, the Chairwoman of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, demanded: “Today, the Tornado successor should be on the table as the first step. Now the F-35 is needed, the most modern combat aircraft in the world and used by many of our partners,” said the FDP politician. The war in Ukraine clearly shows that “attacks are carried out from the air and must be answered or prevented accordingly”.