The Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) announced it will procure a total of 35 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fifth generation fighter aircraft after its budget committee approved the close to €10bn purchase on December 14.

With deliveries expected to take place between 2026 and 2029 the F-35As have been purchased to replace the Luftwaffe’s (German Air Force's) ageing fleet of Panavia Tornado IDS ground attack/strike aircraft. This plan was initially announced on March 14, 2022, and comes as part of the Germany's newly injected €100bn defence budget to modernise and overhaul its armed forces that was announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz just weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.

Germany is the ninth Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customer to join the F-35 programme. The package agreement includes the aircraft, engines, role-specific mission equipment, spare parts, training, weapons and all the required technical and logistical support to make the F-35A an operational weapon system in the Luftwaffe.

Lt Gen Ingo Gerhartz, the Inspector of the Luftwaffe, said that the first German F-35A pilots should be trained on the fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighter at Luke Air Force Base (AFB), Arizona, in 2026. He added that Germany's first Lightning II should arrive in-country in 2027 with the aim of declaring operational readiness the following year.

The US Embassy in Berlin commented on the purchase made by Germany as an assurance to the continuation of credible deterrence within NATO and claimed: “The German-American defense partnership has never been stronger and is a key pillar of NATO's transatlantic partnership.”

It is expected that over 550 F-35s will be operational in Europe by 2030, with a total of ten European countries operating the fifth-generation fighter. This also includes two USAF F-35A units at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk: the 493rd Fighter Squadron (FS) 'Grim Reapers' (which will transition to the Lightning II in the near future) and the 495th FS 'Valkyries' (which already operates the type).

Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin's vice president and general manager of the F-35 programme, said: "It is an honour to formally welcome Germany to the F-35 Lightning II programme. Germany's participation ensures the F-35's European alliance continues to strengthen and grow through interoperability with NATO and ally nations.”

In operational Luftwaffe service, the F-35A will succeed the Tornado IDS in all of its current roles, ranging from ground attack/interdiction and strike operations to maintaining Germany's nuclear deterrent as part of NATO's Nuclear Sharing Arrangements. The F-35As will be operated by Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33 (TaktLwG 33; Tactical Air Force Wing 33) at Büchel Air Base.