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The F35 jets from the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin should be able to carry nuclear weapons
Photo:
Ho New / Reuters
Germany wants to buy F-35 stealth jets from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin as a replacement for Tornado fighter jets.
This was announced by the Federal Ministry of Defense and thus confirmed corresponding reports.
The retirement of the tornadoes has been planned for a long time.
Combat aircraft of the Eurofighter type, on the other hand, are to be retained by the Bundeswehr and “further developed for the role of electronic warfare”.
F-35 aircraft are needed to replace the Luftwaffe's outdated Tornados as part of Germany's so-called nuclear sharing scheme.
In the event of war, US nuclear weapons are flown to the target with German fighter jets.
The Tornados have been in service since the 1980s and are scheduled to be retired between 2025 and 2030.
Eurofighters from the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus were also discussed as the successor to the Tornado.
However, these would first have to be upgraded and certified for the tasks involved in nuclear sharing.
The decision in favor of the F-35 stealth aircraft is also a setback for Boeing: Former Secretary of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer spoke out in favor of the US aircraft manufacturer's F-18 as a Tornado replacement.
In his government statement in the Bundestag on February 27, Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that the F-35 could be used for this task.
The combat aircraft is already certified for use with nuclear weapons.
In his government statement, Scholz also announced that the Bundeswehr should receive a special fund of 100 billion euros in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
muk/Reuters
