A German government spokesperson denied that any decision had been made. “There are no plans, and there is no decision,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the defense ministry in Berlin also said there were currently “no concrete plans or political decisions” to procure more F-35s. In 2022, Germany ordered 35 of the aircraft, which are scheduled to begin delivery later this year.
The potential purchase of additional Lockheed Martin stealth fighters, which cost more than $80 million each, comes as Germany and France remain deadlocked over their Future Combat Air System program. The 100-billion-euro ($118 billion) project, launched in 2017 to replace France’s Rafales and Eurofighters from 2040, has been stalled by industrial rivalries.
Insiders expect Berlin and Paris to abandon development of a joint fighter jet while continuing cooperation on drones and the so-called combat cloud, the digital backbone linking manned and unmanned platforms within the FCAS system. Buying more F-35s would give Germany time to determine how to proceed with developing a sixth-generation fighter jet and to identify a partner for such a project.
A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said the company was focused on building the F-35s already ordered by Germany, while a Pentagon spokesperson referred questions to Berlin. Expanding the fleet would mark a strategic shift toward closer military integration with the United States and away from European defense autonomy, a priority for France.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz questioned whether pursuing a manned sixth-generation jet still made sense for the country’s air force. “Will we still need a manned fighter jet in 20 years’ time? Do we still need it, given that we will have to develop it at great expense?” Merz said on the Machtwechsel podcast.
The F-35s are set to replace Tornado aircraft in their role of carrying U.S. nuclear bombs stored in Germany in the event of conflict. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said last week that the fate of the FCAS program would become clear within days.
In a later statement, a government spokesperson reiterated that Germany currently has no plans to purchase additional F-35 fighter jets after reports that Berlin was weighing further orders. “There are no plans, and there is no decision,” the spokesperson said.
Source: Reuters.
