Defense News
December 14, 2022

Germany clinches $8 billion purchase of 35 F-35 aircraft from the US

German government leaders on Wednesday announced a deal to buy 35 F-35 fighter jets from the United States, a package pegged at $8.4 billion by the Pentagon in its offer from the summer.

Signature of the letter of acceptance caps Berlin’s years-long quest to replace the portion of its aging Tornado fleet tasked with carrying out NATO’s doctrine of nuclear weapons sharing….

…It’s part of a $14 billion batch of procurements German defense leaders will use to improve…military capabilities over the coming years, drawing from a special $107 billion defense fund….

“It is an honor to formally welcome Germany to the F-35 Lightning II Program,” said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager of the F-35 program. “Germany’s participation ensures the F-35′s European alliance continues to strengthen and grow through interoperability with NATO and ally nations.”

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Breaking Defense
December 15, 2022

Germany seals entry to F-35 club with $8.8B, 35-fighter plan

Germany has officially joined the multinational F-35 Lightning II program after the country’s Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg) signed a letter of offer and acceptance Wednesday.

On the same day, Germany’s budgetary committee approved funding for 35 of the fifth generation jets at a cost of €8.4 billion ($8.8 billion).

The new aircraft are under order to partly replace Germany’s aging Panavia Tornado fleet, alongside Eurofighter Electronic Combat Role (ECR) fighters and will be equipped with US B61 bombs to undertake NATO nuclear…missions.

The BMVg added that the fighter jet will also “fight enemy targets on the ground” and be used for close air support missions.

Acquisition of the F-35 represents an extraordinary turnaround in fortune for F-35 maker Lockheed Martin, which had been ruled out of consideration for the Tornado replacement program in 2019, only to be selected by Berlin in March 2022. At that time the new German government decided, in dramatic fashion, to end decades of defense procurement underfunding and instead focus on delivery of a €100 billion ($107 billion) special arms fund to counter Russia….