Germany is set to acquire 93 Eurofighters and an additional 45 U.S.- made F-18s to replace military’s aging Tornado bomber-fighter jet fleet.
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer made the announcement on April 21 amid growing criticism on her decision to include U.S.-made jets.
The Defense Minister told local media that F-18s will replace capabilities of the aging German Luftwaffe’s Tornado fleet.
Also, the Defense ministry spokesperson Arne Collatz-Johannsen noted that Germany would make the acquisition of the aircraft from both the E.U. and U.S. manufacturer. The spokesperson also noted that the American aircraft would be fewer than a third.
Kramp-Karrenbauer told the German daily that to ground the present fleet of Tornado aircraft, the Luftwaffe must maintain certain capabilities and that currently only U.S. manufacturers are offering the capacity to carry nuclear weapons further stressing the reason to acquire from U.S.
Currently, the Tornado is the only Luftwaffe aircraft certified to carry nuclear arms. However, the Defense minister stressed that Eurofighters would be the backbone of the Luftwaffe.
