tomthebotfly
Active member
- Messages
- 66
- Reactions
- Nation of residence
-
- Nation of origin
-
Germany's Defense ministry has informed the German Parliament on Monday (14/03) of its aim to purchase up to thirty-five F-35 Lightning 2 stealth multirole fighters. This comes after the announcement that the German government will bolster the country's defense spending with a new 100bl euro package. Furthermore, they also intend to procure a further 15 Eurofighter Typhoons.
This new F-35 fleet will be replacing the old Panagia Tornado fleet Germany currently holds. Germany currently owns:
- 60 Tornado IDS Variant (Strike/Fighter-Bomber)
- 24 Tornado ECR Variant (SEAD/Electronic Warfare)
- 141 Eurofighter Typhoons (Multirole Fighter) with a further 38 on order
While the F-35s stealth capabilities do perform well during wild weasel ops and SEAD, Germany aims to install ECR modules in its Eurofighter Typhoons as a replacement for the Tornado ECR Variant. Fifteen such Eurofighters have been stated to be procured. The F-35's nuclear capabilities will also be utilized, as the Typhoon cannot carry such weapons while the Tornado could.
Germany has had a weak military ever since the end of WW2, and the fall of the Berlin Wall after that. For example, in 2018 DW stated that, out of the then 128 Eurofighters in service, only 10 were mission ready and missile amounts could arm only up to 4 aircraft. Things like shortfalls in the Intelligence department, general small size of the army and uncared for Navy also contributed to this fact.
www.dw.com
The plan to procure the F-35 deals a heavy blow to Boeing, a competitor to Lockheed-Martin, which was aiming to sell Germany it's F-18 Fighter, which was preferred over the F-35 by the previous German Defense Minister. Furthermore, France is likely to be upset by this decision as it could hurt progress in the FCAS Joint French-German-Spanish Fighter Project, which is seen as a descendant to the Eurofighter as another Airbus-produced European-made fighter. Others however believe that the increase in defense spending will lead to increased investment in the project. The FCAS Project is meant to be completed in the 2040s.
With the increase in defense spending, Germany aims to finally cross the 2% of GDP line required by NATO. As Germany has the largest GDP in Europe and has long been seen as a political and economic leader both in the European Union and abroad, could this sudden shift in policy mark the start of a new era, or do you think all of these proposals will end up being voted against in parliament?
Do you believe this commitment to NATO will help Trans-Atlantic relationships, or should Germany focus on its intra-European partners to prevent switching from dependency to Moscow to dependency to Washington?
Will this move significantly increase the combat capabilities of the Germany Armed Forces, or perhaps the Germans should have focused on improving their Army and Navy instead?
Looking forwards to hearing your thoughts.
www.reuters.com
This new F-35 fleet will be replacing the old Panagia Tornado fleet Germany currently holds. Germany currently owns:
- 60 Tornado IDS Variant (Strike/Fighter-Bomber)
- 24 Tornado ECR Variant (SEAD/Electronic Warfare)
- 141 Eurofighter Typhoons (Multirole Fighter) with a further 38 on order
While the F-35s stealth capabilities do perform well during wild weasel ops and SEAD, Germany aims to install ECR modules in its Eurofighter Typhoons as a replacement for the Tornado ECR Variant. Fifteen such Eurofighters have been stated to be procured. The F-35's nuclear capabilities will also be utilized, as the Typhoon cannot carry such weapons while the Tornado could.
Germany has had a weak military ever since the end of WW2, and the fall of the Berlin Wall after that. For example, in 2018 DW stated that, out of the then 128 Eurofighters in service, only 10 were mission ready and missile amounts could arm only up to 4 aircraft. Things like shortfalls in the Intelligence department, general small size of the army and uncared for Navy also contributed to this fact.
Handful of Germany's Eurofighter jets combat ready — report – DW – 05/02/2018
The report is the latest to cast doubt on Germany's military capabilities and readiness. It raises questions of whether Germany is really meeting its NATO commitments.
www.dw.com
The plan to procure the F-35 deals a heavy blow to Boeing, a competitor to Lockheed-Martin, which was aiming to sell Germany it's F-18 Fighter, which was preferred over the F-35 by the previous German Defense Minister. Furthermore, France is likely to be upset by this decision as it could hurt progress in the FCAS Joint French-German-Spanish Fighter Project, which is seen as a descendant to the Eurofighter as another Airbus-produced European-made fighter. Others however believe that the increase in defense spending will lead to increased investment in the project. The FCAS Project is meant to be completed in the 2040s.
With the increase in defense spending, Germany aims to finally cross the 2% of GDP line required by NATO. As Germany has the largest GDP in Europe and has long been seen as a political and economic leader both in the European Union and abroad, could this sudden shift in policy mark the start of a new era, or do you think all of these proposals will end up being voted against in parliament?
Do you believe this commitment to NATO will help Trans-Atlantic relationships, or should Germany focus on its intra-European partners to prevent switching from dependency to Moscow to dependency to Washington?
Will this move significantly increase the combat capabilities of the Germany Armed Forces, or perhaps the Germans should have focused on improving their Army and Navy instead?
Looking forwards to hearing your thoughts.
Germany to buy 35 Lockheed F-35 fighter jets from U.S. amid Ukraine crisis
Germany will buy 35 U.S. F-35 fighter jets to replace its ageing Tornado, it said on Monday, announcing a first big defence deal since Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a 100-billion-euro upgrade to the military in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Last edited:
