Germany is leaning towards a decision to buy American F-35 fighter jets, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, to replace obsolete Tornadoes that can carry nuclear weapons, Reuters news agency reports, citing a source close to the German Ministry of Defense. However, a final decision has not yet been made.
A second source close to the German military said the possibility of acquiring the F-35 was “back on the table”, but did not expect a decision to be made soon.
“There have been recent attempts to inform Germany of how a possible F-35 purchase would proceed,” a third source involved in the process told Reuters.
A German government spokesman was not immediately available for comment, Reuters reported.
A State Department spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said he could not make any public comment on potential arms sales without informing Congress and referred the matter to the German government over supplies.
Germany must replace its obsolete fleet of Tornado aircraft in the context of NATO’s nuclear sharing agreement (part of the so-called “nuclear deterrence” doctrine), which has committed Chancellor Olaf Solz.
The Tornado is the only German aircraft capable of carrying US nuclear weapons stored in Germany in the event of a collision. The German Air Force has been using it since the 1980s and Berlin plans to withdraw it from service between 2025 and 2030.
The new coalition government in Germany has announced that it will purchase a replacement aircraft at the beginning of its four-year term. Without this move, Berlin will withdraw from the nuclear weapons sharing agreement when the last Tornado is withdrawn, around 2030.
A source in the German Ministry of Defense said that Soltz is expected to discuss the issue during his trip to Washington next week.
If Germany finally decides to buy the F-35, it will be a blow to Boeing, as former Secretary of Defense Annegret Krab-Karenbauer preferred the F-18 to replace the Tornado.
The choice of an American fighter would also upset France. Paris is watching with concern the discussions in Germany over the choice of F-18 or F-35, as it believes that the development of the next generation Franco-German fighter, which is supposed to be ready in the 2040s, will be undermined.
It is not clear how many F-35s Germany could try to buy. Krab-Karenbauer planned to purchase 45 F-18s, but these were intended to replace both nuclear-capable and electronic warfare aircraft.
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