In 2022, three weeks after the start of the war in Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced an upcoming order for 35 F-35A fighter-bombers from the American manufacturer Lockheed-Martin… while the purchase of F/ A-18E/f Super Hornet had until now been favored to replace the Luftwaffe’s Panavia Tornado [force aérienne allemande] dedicated to NATO nuclear missions.
This decision was logical to the extent that the American authorities had removed the F/A-18 Super Hornet from the list of aircraft capable of carrying the B61-12 nuclear bomb, on which NATO nuclear sharing is based.
The order for these F-35As was confirmed in December of the same year. According to details provided by the German Ministry of Defense, the amount of this investment would reach a total of 10 billion euros, this sum taking into account the cost of the infrastructure necessary for the implementation of the American fighter-bomber. Finally, the objective was to declare an initial operational capability in 2028.
Since then, Berlin has released an envelope of 384 million euros to equip 15 Luftwaffe Eurofighters EF-2000/Typhoons with SEAD capability. [suppression des défenses aériennes adverses, ndlr] as part of the “Eurofighter EK” program. And, on June 4, Mr. Scholz announced a new order for 20 Eurofighters [en plus de celle notifiée en 2020 pour 38 appareils au titre du projet Quadriga], without specifying whether these devices would be brought to the “Tranche 5” standard. In addition, Airbus Defense & Space GmbH was asked to supply a Wingman-type combat drone to accompany these aircraft.
But there is clearly a question of going even further. According to confidences made by a military Source to the Reuters agency, on the sidelines of the ILA air show, Germany plans to acquire eight other F-35As. “Berlin is currently studying the costs of such a purchase,” she added, without providing further details.
As a reminder, in 2023, the Rheinmetall group has sealed an agreement with Lockheed-Martin and Northrop Grumman to install an integrated assembly line [IAL pour integrated assembly line] of the central fuselage of the F-35 in Germany. However, the aircraft intended for the Luftwaffe will come off the production lines in Fort Worth [États-Unis] and not those of the assembly plant [FACO – Final Assembly and Check Out] from Cameri [Italie]where aircraft of this type are produced for Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
