The U.S. State Department has approved a potential
sale of over $8 billion worth of F-35 aircraft to Germany, moving closer to
providing Berlin with new 5th generation fighter aircraft. The State Department
on Thursday announced the foreign military sales (FMS) approval for up to 35
F-35A aircraft, along with munitions and related equipment, for a total
estimated cost of $8.4 billion.
Alongside Lockheed Martin, the principal contractors
involved with this F-35 sale include Pratt & Whitney, providing 37 F135
engines, as well as Boeing and Raytheon Technologies. Proposed munitions
packages include the AIM120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles;
GBU-53 small diameter bombs; AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff
Missiles-Extended Range; Joint Direct Attack Munition tail kits; and AIM-9X
Sidewinder missiles.
These fighter jets, built by Lockheed Martin, will
take over by 2030 from the German Air Force’s aging fleet of PA-200 Tornado
aircraft, based at Tactical Air Wing 33 in Büchel, Germany. German Air Force
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz and Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht
announced in March the decision to procure the F-35 joint strike fighter.
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown met
with Gerhartz earlier this month in Rostock, Germany, ahead of the Global Air
and Space Chiefs Conference and the Farnborough Airshow in London. The joint
strike fighter was a major point of conversation between the two air force
leaders, with Gerhartz telling Defense News “we are shaping our future” with
the F-35. Joining the joint strike fighter program is “an important milestone
that will further intensify our ties,” Gerhartz said in an emailed statement to
Defense News after the meeting in Rostock. “Shared weapons systems are the best
basis for even closer cooperation.”
Germany is but one of several European nations that
has opted for the U.S.-made F-35 to replenish its fighter jet fleets. Most
recently, Greece has sent an official letter of request to procure 20 F-35As by
2028, while the Czech Republic wants the aircraft to replace its aging fleet of
Saab JAS 39 Gripens. Belgium also selected the F-35 in 2018, and will receive
34 aircraft.
Meanwhile, Finland plans to spend $10 billion to buy
64 F-35 aircraft to replace its F-18 Hornets, with initial deliveries to start
in 2026. Switzerland also selected the joint strike fighter in 2021, committing
to 36 aircraft that will replace its own Hornet fleet. Poland will receive 32
F-35A aircraft beginning in 2024, after a letter of agreement was signed
between Warsaw and Washington in January 2020.
Comments
Post a Comment