Specialists inspect F/A-18 fighter jet aboard the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, June 7, 2016. REUTERS/Andrea Shalal/File Photo
Reuters: Germany drops F-35 from fighter tender; Boeing F/A-18 and Eurofighter to battle on
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will pick either the Eurofighter or Boeing’s F/A-18 fighter jet to replace its Tornado warplanes, knocking Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter out of a tender worth billions of euros, Defence Ministry sources said on Thursday.
The ministry will make a final decision after receiving detailed information from Boeing and Airbus about the aircraft, which must be able to carry U.S. nuclear weapons to fulfill Germany’s obligations to NATO, the sources said.
No timetable for a decision was given, but the process could take time since the U.S. government will have to certify both jets to carry the nuclear weapons. Germany has 85 operational Tornado jets, but not all are equipped to carry nuclear weapons.
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More News On Germany Not Replacing Its Tornado Warplanes With The F-35
Germany officially knocks F-35 out of competition to replace Tornado -- Defense News
SPD puts brakes on Germany's search for nuclear capable jet -- DW
Germany opts against buying American F-35 stealth fighter -- Financial Times
Germany Weighs Purchase of 45 Boeing-Made F/A-18 Warplanes -- The Wall Street Journal
2 comments:
Given the developmental problems, complexity and crazy price of the F-35, the Germans are smart to opt for the F/A-18E/F. It also better fits their mission capability.
/Ever wonder why the German version of the Typhoon is called "Eurofighter"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Typhoon
With every day Germany walks away from its NATO obligations. Germany just announced it is no longer fullfilling its nuclear deterrence mission. Germany currently fulfills that mission using American B-61 gravity nuclear bombs mounted on barely flyable Tornado jets.
The American B-61’s currently deployed are old with parts obsolescence so production has just started with the B-61-12. Here is the catch, that bomb only works on F-35 and other US stealth aircraft.
So the only nuclear capable German jets are some 30 years old, poorly maintained as all German aircraft are and incapable of penetrating Russian airspace.
Now the fiction the USA will retro fit B-61-12 to Eurofighter or F-18’s is way to costly to contemplate. The Americans will rightfully quote an exorbitant price tag since custom electronics will be needed for a very small number of jets. Maybe the Americans just don’t offer the conversion.
With the demise of the INF treaty, which Merkel has lamented Trumps abrogation, and her FM has pledged Germany opposition to any new NATO deterrence, this aircraft decision takes Germany out of its decades old commitment to nuclear deterrence.
Instead if it’s slow walk from NATO, Germany has begun to run away.
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