Germany concludes a contract to purchase 35 US F35 fighters

The United States Embassy in Berlin announced on Wednesday that Germany has concluded a contract with the US Army to purchase 35 of F-35 fighter jets, in a deal that falls within the framework of the European country’s efforts to modernize its army.

The US embassy said in a statement that the German government “has signed a contract with the US Air Force for the purchase of 35 F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft, which will be delivered between 2026 and 2029”.

In March, Berlin announced its intention to purchase 35 of these fighters, which are manufactured by Lockheed Martin, in addition to 15 other European Eurofighter combat aircraft, noting that these advanced fighters will replace its old fleet of Tornado fighters.

However, in early December, the German Ministry of Defense raised doubts about moving forward with this project, after it spoke of possible “delays and additional costs” for this deal, worth about ten billion euros, in a confidential letter it sent to the Parliament’s Budget Committee.

However, these doubts were dispelled when the Bundestag, the German parliament, gave the green light to the deal on Wednesday.

The Bundestag also gave the green light to other arms deals, including the purchase of machine guns.

These deals will be financed from a special fund of 100 billion euros created after the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the aim of modernizing the German army.

The German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (Social Democratic Party) praised the approval of the deputies for these deals, and saw them as a “very important sign” that Parliament supports the German army.

According to the US embassy statement, “The German F-35 program will ensure that Germany continues to fulfill its obligations to NATO and will ensure the alliance’s reliable deterrence capacity in the future”.

The first F-35 fighter is expected to enter service with the German army in 2028.

In its statement, the embassy stressed that “in the face of current security challenges, including the Russian war in Ukraine, close cooperation between allies has become more important than ever”.

German politics has always been preoccupied with the issue of replacing the old fleet of Tornado fighters dating back to the 1980s and 1990s, with a total of 93 fighters, some of which are dilapidated.