Germany will buy 35 F-35 fighter jets developed by Lockheed Martin, news agency Deutsche Welle reported on Monday. Germany plans to replace its ageing Tornado fleet of fighter jets with the F-35s, the report further added.
The announcement comes soon after German chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany will increase its spending on defence following Russia’s ‘military operation’ in Ukraine. He announced that the nation’s investments in defence would be higher than the key NATO commitment of 2% of Germany’s GDP.
Germany before buying the F-35s also has to look at previous deals designed to give the German air force a boost. It earlier was a signatory in a deal with France where both nations in 2019 decided to develop a joint fighter jet. Additionally it will also purchase 15 Eurofighter jets, according to an AFP report, which will be used for electronic warfare and escort missions.
French Safran Aircraft Engines and Germany’s MTU Aero Engines were to come together for the project which was agreed upon when current European Commission president and former defence minister of Germany Ursula Von Der Leyen and French defence minister Florence Parly made an agreement.
The F-35s could also mean that plans to buy the F-18 from Boeing could also be on the back-foot which was a preferred option for former German defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, according to a Deutsche Welle report.
Germany is planning to phase out the Tornado fleet which it has been flying since the 1980s between 2025 and 2030. The Tornado fleet is the only group of fighter jets in Germany which can carry US nuclear bombs.
F-35s are considered to be one of the best fighter jets in the world. The US has sold F-35s and its variants to Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands and Israel. The US Navy has also received the F-35C variant developed by Lockheed Martin.
There are also the F-35A and F-35B – the F-35A is flown by the US Air Force and while the F-35B is flown by the US Marine Corps. The F-35s have an outer coating which is unique making it almost undetectable by enemy radars. The powerful fighter engines in the world can reach speeds of upto 1,200 mph. The F-35C can carry two missiles on its wings and four inside.
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