Germany has agreed to buy F-35 fighter jets from the United States as part of a major policy shift announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The German parliament’s budget committee approved the $8.4 billion deal to buy 35 F-35 fighter aircraft produced by the U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said.
The $8 billion deal is part of military procurement projects worth $14 billion that the German defense leaders intend to use for the improvement of lackluster military capabilities in the coming years, drawing from a special $107 billion defense reserve set up after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The decision on the purchase of the aircraft was announced by German officials in March, as Berlin aims to replace its aging Tornado fleet with the contemporary F-35 aircraft
“It is an honor to formally welcome Germany to the F-35 Lightning II Program,” said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager of the F-35 program. “Germany’s participation ensures the F-35′s European alliance continues to strengthen and grow through interoperability with NATO and ally nations.”
Germany is the ninth foreign military sales country to join the F-35 program.
Currently, the world’s most advanced warplane, the F-35, will be delivered to Berlin between 2026 and 2029, according to U.S. officials.
“The German F-35 program will ensure the continuation of Germany’s alliance commitments and guarantee NATO’s credible deterrence in the future,” said the US embassy in Berlin in a statement.
Training of German pilots with the first new aircraft is scheduled to begin in 2026 in the U.S. As per the plan, the training activities will move to Germany the following year, before the Germany air force declares an initial operational capability in 2028.