Germany Officially Signs For 35 F-35A Lightning IIs
The German Ministry of Defense announced Wednesday that it had officially signed a letter of offer and acceptance for the purchase of 35 F-35As, with the signing made by Annette Lehnigk-Emden, the vice-president of the German military procurement agency.
The letter of offer and acceptance was signed after the Bundestag budget committee approved funding of the F-35A purchase in a meeting earlier that day, with funding of the 8.3 billion euro purchase to be disbursed from the Bundeswehr’s special fund for modernization.
The purchase is being made through the United States’ Foreign Military Sales program, with a comprehensive package of engines, role-specific mission equipment, spare and replacement parts, technical and logistic support, training and armament to be supplied alongside the F-35s themselves.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht described the outcome of the budget committee meeting as a “good day” for the German armed forces, with the F-35A funding approval coming alongside funding for other modernization programs such as the procurement of Heckler & Koch’s HK416 A8 assault rifle as a replacement for Bundeswehr G36 assault rifles, and funds for upgrades to the Bundeswehr’s Puma infantry fighting vehicles.
In German service, the F-35A will replace the Panavia Tornado in the role of delivering tactical nuclear weapons shared among NATO members, alongside the Tornado’s strike and close air support missions. Lambrecht had announced in March that the German government had selected the F-35A for the tactical nuclear delivery role, with the electronic warfare mission of part of the Tornado fleet to be carried out by a dedicated electronic warfare variant of Airbus’ Eurofighter now in development.
“Congratulations to Germany on procuring the F-35A. Germany is the ninth foreign military sales country to join the program,” said Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, F-35 Program Executive Officer in a statement. “We look forward to working with them to deliver the F-35 Air System to meet their national defense requirements.”
Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager of the F-35 program, said that it was “an honor to formally welcome Germany to the F-35 Lightning II Program”, adding that Berlin’s decision would “strengthen and grow” the F-35’s European alliance through interoperability between NATO F-35 operators and other allies.