This is how Germany plans to disappoint Boeing and France with the F-35s
According to Reuters, Germany is getting closer to buying the F-35 fighter made by Lockheed Martin. But there is no final decision yet. All the details
Germany is getting closer to buying the US F-35 fighter jet built by Lockheed Martin
Reuters reports according to a German defense source, but a final decision has not been made, the news agency said. Another source, close to the German military, said a possible purchase of F-35s was "back on the table", but no decisions were expected any time soon. "There have been recent efforts to inform Germany on how to proceed with a potential F-35 purchase," a third source involved in the effort told Reuters.
The F-35 fighters are back in the German government spotlight as Berlin examines options to replace the Luftwaffe's Panavia Tornadoes. German news agency DPA first reported in mid-January. The Tornado aircraft is expected to be retired from active service in 2025.
The German defense source told Reuters that Scholz was expected to raise the matter during a trip to Washington next week.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin's rival Boeing has upped the ante to push its aircraft. Boeing has promised to expand German industry involvement if the country chooses the F / A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler offering.
Not only. One also wonders if the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a program for the sixth generation air combat system initiated by Paris and Berlin (with Spain) could coexist with a German acquisition of the F-35.
All the details.
WILL GERMANY REPLACE THE TORNADO WITH THE F-35?
As Reuters points out, Berlin needed to swiftly replace its old Tornado jets to remain part of the NATO nuclear sharing agreement.
The Tornado is the only German jet capable of carrying US nuclear bombs. But the German defense plans to phase out the fighter gradually between 2025 and 2030.
The new German coalition has said it will buy a replacement at the start of its four-year term. Without this move, Berlin would abandon nuclear sharing when the last Tornado retires around 2030.
According to press reports in January, the current German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht would return to evaluate the acquisition of the F-35s, ordering the test of this model. And defense sources heard by Reuters confirm the direction towards US fifth-generation fighter-bombers made by Lockheed Martin.
However, at the moment no confirmation has come from the German dicastery.
THE LOCATION OF THE UNITED STATES
Nor from the United States.
“As a matter of policy, we will not publicly confirm or comment on proposed defense transfers or sales until they have been formally notified to Congress. We refer you to the German government to discuss its future defense procurement plans, ”a Washington State Department spokesperson told Reuters .
SHOT A BOEING …
If Germany decides to buy the F-35, it would be a blow to LM's other American defense giant, Boeing. So far Boeing's F-18 fighter has been favored by former German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to replace the Tornado.
And in the wake of press rumors about a possible Berlin purchase of an F-35, Boeing has upped the ante.
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 request for information (RFI) was sent to more than 10 German companies to solicit offers. RFIs are the first step towards domestic support worth around € 3.5 billion over the program lifecycle and will contribute to further economic and high-value opportunities for the German economy as programs evolve ” AviationReport explained .
… .EA PARIS
Finally, an eventual order for American F-35s could upset France. French officials may question Berlin's commitment to FCAS.
FCAS is the Franco-German program for the air system of the future which includes, in addition to the new generation fighter, new drones, a new generation weapon system, a brand new jet engine, advanced sensors and technologies stealth and a cloud network. The project got the green light at a 2017 meeting of the Franco-German Council of Defense Ministries, with an expense to be shared equally between Paris and Berlin, with their respective lead industries Dassault Aviation and Airbus. Spain then joined the project with Indra.
According to Reuters , Paris has cautiously observed previous German deliberations on whether to opt for the F-18 or F-35, worried that it could undermine the development of a joint Franco-German fighter jet that should be ready around. to 2040.
And Franco-German cooperation on FCAS is far from booming at the moment. “The situation outlined by Dassault's CEO is not the rosiest; in fact, according to him, the clash between Airbus and Dassault which, from the beginning, characterized the FCAS / Scaf program, would not be over ”reported Aurelio Giansiracusa of AresDifesa at the beginning of the week .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/ecco-come-con-gli-f-35-la-germania-medita-di-deludere-boeing-e-la-francia/ on Fri, 04 Feb 2022 11:15:51 +0000.