Because if Germany buys the F-35, Leonardo is also celebrating
Germany could be the next European country to buy the American F-35 fighter: good news both for Lockheed Martin, prime contractor of the program, and for the Italian Leonardo. Here because
After Switzerland and Finland , another European country could join the Jsf program.
In fact, Germany would be closer and closer to the purchase of the US F-35 fighter jet made by Lockheed Martin.
In January, press reports reported that Berlin is once again considering the F-35 as a potential replacement for its old Tornado fleet. And last week, multiple sources told Reuters that, after being scrapped in 2019, the F-35 option would be "back on the table."
A final decision has not yet been made. If Germany buys the American aircraft it would be good news both for Lockheed Martin (the F-35 fighter represents 30% of sales) and for Leonardo who is responsible for the production of the wings of the F-35A and the final assembly of the aircraft. ordered by Italy and the Netherlands, as reported by Bestinver analysts imaged by MF .
A decision is expected this week as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet US President Joe Biden at the White House today.
All the details.
THE TITUBANCES OF GERMANY ON THE F-35
Over the past few years, numerous reports have stated that German decision makers prefer the Eurofighter Typhoon. One potential reason could be Germany's interest in supporting the Luftwaffe's European fighter production.
In 2019, the German Ministry of Defense had excluded the F-35s from the Tornado succession, opting for other Eurofighters and Boeing's F-18s, both "Super Hornet" and "Growler".
The then Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen had abandoned an F-35 option to gradually replace the nearly 90 German Tornadoes. In fact, it was feared that the purchase of that fighter jet would upset the Franco-German defense alliance with the creation of FCAS in the center.
However, no final decision has been made since then.
BOEING RAISES THE STAKE
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin rival Boeing has upped the ante to back up its offer.
As reported by DefenseNews , Boeing announced on January 11 that the company is ready to expand its network of German suppliers if the new Berlin government chooses to purchase versions of its F-18 fighter to replace part of the country's Tornadoes.
A PUSH FROM LOCKHEED MARTIN
But recent developments could have an impact on the German decision.
As The National Interest explains , “Lockheed Martin continues to expand its maintenance, construction and supplier base in Europe to support the growing number of F-35 customers. This opens up the possibility for suppliers based in Europe to subcontract for Lockheed and create thousands of jobs. Beyond any potential economic impact, there are a growing number of strategic and tactical reasons why Germany could benefit from joining a multinational F-35 force. The F-35's Advanced Multifunction Data Link (MADL) offers multinational network advantages by facilitating secure connectivity between F-35s from different countries. "
"In addition to improving Berlin's interoperability with its NATO allies, a German fleet of F-35s would introduce a new level of technological sophistication for the Luftwaffe," concluded the American newspaper.
POSITIVE NEWS FOR LEONARDO
To date it is not clear how many F-35 jets Germany could buy, in any case, if the news were confirmed, “it would be positive for Leonardo. The F-35 flagship fighter represents about 30% of Lockheed Martin's sales and Leonardo is responsible for the production of the F-35A wings and the final assembly of the aircraft ordered by Italy and the Netherlands ", analysts pointed out. of Bestinver Securities taken over by MF .
"The broker recalled that in the first nine months of last year Leonardo confirmed the good performance of the aircraft division (orders: + 112.8% compared to 2020, revenues: + 24.5%, ebita + 18.1% with a Ros at 11.4%). In the same period for the military programs of the Aircraft division, Leonardo delivered 32 wings to Lockheed Martin against 27 in the first nine months of 2020. Bestinver therefore confirmed the buy rating and the target price between 7 and 8 euros on the Leonardo stock. ".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/perche-se-la-germania-compra-gli-f-35-festeggia-anche-leonardo/ on Mon, 07 Feb 2022 13:47:08 +0000.