Nfter years of political bickering, the decision of the new federal government has finally been made: the Air Force’s more than 40-year-old Tornado jets are to be replaced by modern aircraft from the USA and Europe by 2030. This Wednesday, the defense policy committee of the Bundestag wants to discuss the details of the billion-euro contract. Part of the outdated fleet is to be replaced by 35 modern F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin. Another billion will flow into the purchase of 15 additional Eurofighters, which will be modernized with systems for electronic warfare so that they can take over the tasks of the Tornados in the future, as the Federal Ministry of Defense announced in Berlin.
The fact that up to 35 jets from the USA are being used for an estimated system price of 180 million euros per aircraft has to do with nuclear sharing within NATO. The deterrent concept of the Western military alliance provides that allied states have access to the US nuclear weapons stored in Europe. On the German side, 46 Tornado jets have so far been available specifically for such missions: In the event of a military emergency, these are intended to bring the US Army’s B-61 gravitational bombs stored in the Eifel to clearly defined targets.
Most modern and most expensive fighter jet in the world
In contrast to other jet options in Europe, the high-tech aircraft that has now been ordered from overseas has the required license as a nuclear weapons carrier. The replacement with Eurofighters, which was traded as an alternative at times, was ruled out with reference to the time-consuming approval of such licenses.
The F-35 is not only the most modern, but also the most expensive fighter jet in the world. The aircraft, equipped with a Pratt & Whitney engine, is considered a kind of computer floating in the air, which obtains its information from its own data cloud and can detect enemy targets at an early stage using a wealth of sensors. Due to its special shape and outer coating, it is almost invisible to enemy radar. According to Lockheed, the pilot’s high-tech helmet alone, with which the almost 16-meter-long fighter jet is controlled, is worth around 400,000 dollars.
After the decision by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to increase the Bundeswehr with an additional budget of 100 billion euros, the financial scope for such projects has improved noticeably. And as far as the Tornado successor is concerned, the vote of Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Chairwoman of the Defense Committee, is clear: “The F-35 is needed, it is the most modern combat aircraft in the world and is used by many of our partners.” Bundeswehr experts agree with the FDP politician: “Measured by the technical capabilities of its fleet, the F-35 is the new gold standard for the Air Force.”
The project is associated with high costs – even if the stated unit price for the F-35 of around 90 million euros appears affordable at first glance compared to competitors such as the Eurofighter built by Airbus or the F-18 by Boeing. The system price, which takes into account the costs for maintenance, repairs and updates for the complex software, is more important for the armed forces’ calculations. In addition, connoisseurs of the fighter jet cite the expensive conversions at German military airfields at around 500 million euros per base as a further cost driver.
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