Germany Needs A New Fighter Plane

UKDJ

David Axe, National Interest: Germany Needs a New Fighter Plane: What About a Stealth F-35 or New F-15EX?

This could get very interesting--very quickly.

he German air force will select a new fighter aircraft in early 2020, German minister of defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced in late September 2019.

The plane will replace the Luftwaffe’s fleet of 93 Panavia Tornado fighter-bombers and complement the service’s roughly 140 Eurofighter Typhoons. For the longer term, Germany is working with France to develop a next-generation warplane under the Future Combat Air System program.

It’s unclear how many new fighters Berlin wants and therefore exactly how much the purchase could cost. But the price is likely to be in the billions of dollars.

Officially, just two types are in the running for the German acquisition -- the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the Typhoon. Berlin in early 2019 dropped the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter from the competition.

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WNU Editor: Much of the German air force is currently grounded .... Report: German Military Lacks Equipment And Recruits (January 30, 2019). As long as Germany is not serious about providing the proper training and maintenance that is required to maintain an air force, it will make no difference on what fighter jet it buys. My prediction. Nothing is going to change.