The German government intends to equip the country's Air Force with US-built fifth-generation F-35 fighters, sources close to the government told the German News Agency.
Germany needs to replace its aging fleet of Tornado aircraft as part of NATO's nuclear weapons sharing agreement (ed. nuclear sharing agreement, part of the alliance's doctrine of so-called nuclear deterrence), to which Chancellor Olaf Scholz is committed.
The Tornado is the only German aircraft capable of carrying US nuclear weapons stored in Germany in the event of a conflict.
The Tornado is the only German aircraft capable of carrying US nuclear weapons stored in Germany in the event of a conflict. The German Air Force has used it since the 1980s and Berlin plans to retire it from service between 2025 and 2030.
The choice of an American fighter would also upset France. Paris is watching with concern the discussions in Germany on the F-18 or F-35 option, as it believes it would undermine the development of a Franco-German next-generation fighter, which is supposed to be ready in the 2040s.
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