Germany will buy F-35 fighter jets produced by Lockheed Martin to replace its ageing Tornado aircraft, as per the report of a source which suggests erlin plans to buy up to 35 of the stealth jets, two government sources reported.
In early February, a German defence source told Reuters that Germany was leaning toward purchasing the F-35, but no final decision had been made.
In the event of a confrontation, the Tornado is the sole German jet capable of transporting US nuclear bombs stored in Germany.
However, the jet has been used by the air force since the 1980s, and Berlin intends to phase it out between 2025 and 2030.
The F-35 purchase will be a setback for Boeing, whose F-18 was chosen to replace the Tornado by former German defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
The decision may also irritate France. Paris has been closely monitoring Germany’s discussions over the F-18 or the more modern F-35, fearful that a deal could jeopardise the development of a joint Franco-German fighter plane scheduled to be completed in the 2040s.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz backed the ongoing cooperative programme with Paris two weeks ago.
Scholz also declared at the time that the Eurofighter jet, constructed by the Franco-German Airbus, would be further enhanced to be capable of electronic warfare, a function that the Tornado also performs.
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