BERLIN: Germany will buy F-35 fighter spurts erected byU.S. establishment Lockheed Martin to replace its geriatric Tornado aircraft, according to two government sources, with one of the sources saying Berlin aims to buy up to 35 of the covert spurts.
A German defence source told Reuters in early February that Germany was leaning toward copping the F-35 but a final decision hadn’t been taken.
The Tornado is the only German spurt able to carryingU.S. nuclear losers, stored in Germany, in case of a conflict.
But the air force has been flying the sport since the 1980s, and Berlin is planning to phase it out between 2025 and 2030.
The F-35 steal will be a blow for Boeing, whose F-18 was favoured by former German defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to replace the Tornado.
The decision could also upset France. Paris has watched Germany’s reflections over the F-18 or further advanced F-35, concerned a deal could undermine the development of a common Franco-German fighter sport that’s supposed to be ready in the 2040s.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz two weeks ago backed the ongoing common programme with Paris.
At the time, Scholz also blazoned that the Eurofighter spurt, erected by Franco-German Airbus, would be developed further to be able of electronic warfare, a part the Tornado also fulfils.
