Germany joins F-35 club

Germany has announced it will buy 35 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft.

FILE PHOTO (2021): Four Royal Australian Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft on Exercise Red Flag Alaska 21-3.

F-35 Program Executive Officer Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt congratulated Germany on procuring the F-35A.

“Germany is the ninth foreign-military-sales country to join the program,” Lieutenant General Schmidt said.

“We look forward to working with them to deliver the F-35 Air System to meet their national-defence requirements.”

The agreement includes a comprehensive package of engines, role-specific mission equipment, spare and replacement parts, technical and logistic support, training and armament.

“It is an honor to formally welcome Germany to the F-35 Lightning II Program.”

Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager of the F-35 program Bridget Lauderdale said Germany’s participation would ensure the F-35’s European alliance would continue to strengthen and grow through interoperability with NATO and allied nations.

“Lockheed Martin has been a committed partner to the Bundeswehr for more than 50 years, and the F-35 opens another chapter of supporting Germany’s interests for national and European security,” she said.

“By the 2030s, it is expected that more than 550 F-35s will work together from more than 10 European countries, including two full US F-35 squadrons at RAF Lakenheath.”

To date, the F-35 operates from 26 bases worldwide, with nine nations operating F-35s on their home soil.

There are more than 875 F-35s in service today, with more than 1,845 pilots and 13,350 maintainers trained on the aircraft.

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