Bewaffnung: Deutschland denkt nicht darüber nach, weitere F-35-Kampfflugzeuge zu kaufen

The German government currently has no plans to purchase additional F-35 fighter jets from the US. „There are no plans, there is no decision,“ a government spokesperson told Reuters news agency on Thursday.

Previously, Reuters had reported, citing people familiar with the plans, that negotiations were underway to purchase additional F-35s. One insider spoke of 35 additional fighter jets. Government circles rejected any connection to the uncertainties surrounding the German-French-Spanish FCAS air combat system.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) once again questioned the joint fighter jet project with France: „I would like to have this question clarified now: Will we still need a manned fighter jet in 20 years‘ time? Do we still need it, given that we will have to develop it at great expense?“ He said that Germany and France had very different requirements for such an aircraft.

Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said he shared Merz’s skepticism. However, he added that this did not reflect any political discord with France. „This is a problem that exists between the industries, which we cannot easily solve.“ Demands by Dassault to take clear leadership in the consortium with Airbus had shaken the hundred-billion-euro project. Joint drones and a combat cloud are to be further developed even after the fighter jet project has been scrapped.

Wonderful 

Well then comes the question to mind: what are they going to use to replace the other 35 Tornados able to carry US nukes? Or do they just let this part of their air force shrink?

Yes they are. If their chancellor said that they don’t know if they need a 6th gen jet right now, it means that they’ll need something to bridge the gap until whatever is supposed to replace the Typhoon is ready (be it drones or an actual 6th gen jet). Therefore Germany is definitely considering ordering more F-35.

> There is no planning, there is no decision

The spokesperson simply said that nothing is decided yet not that they’re not considering it, considering something doesn’t mean yes or no. Therefore the headline is FALSE.

They only ever planned to purchase enough for the nuclear sharing agreement, not sure why this is a surprise.

This whole saga with the Germany and fighter jets is just exhausting.

I really wish Merz, Macron, and the relevant people from Dassault and Airbus could just sit down, get serious and make the best of a clearly non-ideal situation and rush for the FCAS plane.

* The only reason Germany has any F-35s is for nuclear strike capabilities holding American weapons.

* Germany, France, and the UK have been talking about nuclear weapon sharing

* One of the major sticking points with FCAS is that Germany claims to have different needs from France, in particular about aircraft carrier and nuclear weapon compatibility

It seems like the obvious solution is to just make Germany’s needs the same as France’s needs. Form a military integration doctrine with France that includes nuclear weapon sharing, and the ability to land on France’s aircraft carrier when possible.

That wouldn’t solve the problem where Dassault and Airbus can’t agree on how IP should be handled, but one could hope that the politicians could just put their foot down at some point and make them cooperate with eachother.