Germany has no plans to buy additional F-35 fighter jets, a defense ministry spokesman said on Friday, July 11. He also denied a Politico report that the country planned to increase its planned fleet to 50.
So far, Germany has ordered 35 US-made fifth-generation fighter jets to replace 85 older Tornado fighter jets, which will be retired.
“The defense ministry currently has no plans to procure additional F-35s beyond the 35 F-35s already contractually agreed,” the spokesman said at the press conference.
Reuters reported that a military source said that the number of 15 additional F-35 stealth fighter jets was part of previous considerations, but that these numbers needed to be adjusted after NATO’s new weapons and troop numbers targets.
However, the new target suggests that the number previously considered was not large enough and that the actual number of additional F-35s ultimately needed could be higher, although the military source did not confirm this.
The Politico report comes amid tensions between Germany and France over the joint Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) partnership, after a report earlier this week said France now wants an 80% share of the work.
An industry source said the demand would result in the cancellation of the agreed division of tasks and likely stop the project from moving forward to the next phase, according to Reuters.
The 10th German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday, July 9, that differences also remain over the configuration of the FCAS project, which is plagued by delays and internal disagreements over workshare and intellectual property rights.
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