Germany officially announced the purchase of 35 F-35 Lightning II fighters for $8.85 billion
After months of talk, Germany officially announced the purchase of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation American fighter jets. They will replace the Tornado jets.
Here's What We Know
At the beginning of December, Olaf Scholz confirmed that Germany was planning to buy the planes. Moreover, the chancellor said that they would be able to carry American nuclear weapons. At that time the amount of €10 billion ($10.66 billion) was called.
On December 14 it became known that Germany would spend only €8.3 billion ($8.85 billion) to buy 35 fifth generation fighters F-35 Lightning II. A corresponding announcement was published on the website of the Federal Ministry of Defense.
As expected, the purchase of the planes will be financed from a €100 billion ($106.6 billion) special fund created to strengthen defense capabilities. The deal was approved by the budget committee of the Bundestag.
In addition to 35 stealth fighters, the contract includes the supply of engines, equipment, spare parts, weapons and personnel training. The potential deal between the U.S. and Germany was approved by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) back in mid-summer 2022. The U.S. has certified the sale of 37 Pratt & Whitney F-135 engines, AGM-158B air-to-surface cruise missiles and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles.
Not all are happy with the purchase of F-35 in Germany. For example, the Federal Association of the German Aerospace Industry criticized the decision of the authorities in November. The military-industrial complex considers that the deal will leave the German industry behind as all support and maintenance work will be carried out in the United States without participation of companies from Germany.
