2030: Luftwaffe Tornado jets may be replaced by F-35s.

[Daniel Ravenswaay]

With an F-35 with full payload you can at least egress stealthily

[Stratofreighter]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germ ... SKBN1E52EK

...de luchtmacht wikt, de regering beschikt...
Wie betaalt, bepaalt...

December 11, 2017 / 8:00 PM / Updated 18 hours ago

Germany favors Eurofighter as it seeks to replace Tornado

The German Defence Ministry said on Monday that the European fighter jet
was the leading candidate to replace its Tornado jets,
which it wants to start phasing out in 2025.

The ministry’s position appears to contradict that of the German air force,
whose chief indicated last month that he preferred Lockheed Martin’s F-35,
which meets the military’s requirements of stealth and long-distance operational capabilities.

In a letter to a Greens lawmaker who had inquired about the deliberations,
the ministry said the F-35 and Boeing’s F-15 and F-18 fighters were secondary options.

“The indicated view of the inspector of the air force
that the F-35 Lightning II is an especially suitable successor to the Tornado system is not the position of the federal government,”
Deputy Defence Minister Ralf Brauksiepe wrote in the letter.

The ministry’s preference for the Typhoon is no surprise;
France and Germany said earlier this year they would work together to develop a new European fighter,
as they expand cooperation on defense and security.

The contract to replace Germany’s 85 Tornado jets, which go out of service around 2030, could be worth billions of euros.

A new fighter purchase would have to be approved by parliament in the next two years
and a contract signed by 2020 or 2021 to ensure deliveries by 2025.
No final decision is likely before a new government is formed, following elections this past September.

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.janes.com/article/78644/luft ... 35-support

Luftwaffe chief dismissed over F-35 support

16 March 2018

The Chief of the Luftwaffe is to leave his position in large part
due to his support for a German procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

Lieutenant General Karl Müllner will leave his position by the end of May,
with the news of his retirement breaking just two days
after Germany’s defence secretary, Ursula von der Leyen,
was sworn in for another term.

Jane’s understands that Gen Müllner’s outspoken public support for the JSF
as a successor to the German Tornado fleet
was pivotal in the decision for his early retirement.

“The Luftwaffe considers the F-35’s capability as the benchmark for the selection process for the Tornado replacement,
and I think I have expressed myself clearly enough as to what the favourite of the air force is,”
Gen Müllner told Jane’s and other media in November 2017.

The Chief of the Luftwaffe’s active support of the JSF clashes
with current Ministry of Defence planning,
which prefers a successor solution involving the Eurofighter Typhoon.