The German army wishes to replace its Tornado fleet become “obsolete”, according to the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Le Monde with AFP
The German army plans to buy up to thirty-five combat aircraft F-35 from the American Builder Lockheed Martin as well as fifteen Eurofighter, learned the France-Presse agency, Monday, March 14, a source parliamentary. The Bundeswehr, name of the German army, wishes to replace its Tornado fleet intended to ensure its nuclear mission for the benefit of NATO.
It is “correct” to assert that Berlin intends to acquire these devices, supported this source, under the cover of anonymity, confirming information from German media, including die welt and Bild
The F-35s must mainly be used to transport American atomic missiles as part of NATO deterrence operations, while Eurofighter must focus on electronic scrambling operations of anti-aircraft defense systems.
An extraordinary session of the Commission for Defense Affairs of the Deputies’ National Chamber is scheduled at the end of the afternoon on the subject.
An infidelity to the trinational project “Air combat system of the future “
This planned command is a bad signal for the Franco-Germano-Spanish project SCAF (Future Air Combat System) that must replace 2040 French burst combat aircraft and the German and Spanish Eurofighter.
The acquisition of these F-35 could indeed “delete” the need for a new European hunter in Horizon 2040 for Germany, yet the objective of the European project ScaF, according to a recent parliamentary report of French deputies .
The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, wanted to dismiss these fears at the end of February, believing that in the long run, the European aircraft project was a “absolute priority”. “It is important for me (…) that we were building the next generation of combat aircraft and tanks in collaboration with European partners,” he said.
However, the German army had to replace in the short term its Tornado become “obsolete”, according to Mr. Scholz.