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| US sells 35 F-35 fighter jets and other weapons to Germany for $8.4 billion |
Washington - The United States (US) State Department has approved the sale of 35 F-35 stealth fighter jets to Germany. The aircraft for sale have been certified to drop the American B-61 nuclear bomb.
The sale of dozens of advanced fighter jets, along with a substantial weapons package, totaled $8.4 billion.
As announced in March, the German Ministry of Defense has decided to replace its Tornado fighter and electronic warfare aircraft with a combination of Lockheed Martin's F-35A stealth fighter and Airbus Defense & Space's Eurofighter ECR starting in 2030.
The F-35's incorporation responds to the need to maintain the Luftwaffe's or German Air Force's nuclear deterrence capability. Of the options that have been considered to replace the Panavia Tornado (Super Hornet and Typhoon), the F-35A is the only aircraft certified to deliver the US B-61 nuclear bomb, which Germany scores as part of the responsibility for NATO's nuclear sharing.
In response to Germany's formal request for the purchase of the F-35A, the US Department of Defense's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) issued a press release detailing Washington's offer, which not only includes the aircraft and its logistics section but will also come with an armament package.
The main items that make up the offer, worth approximately USD8.4 billion, are as follows:
- 35 conventional F-35(A) takeoff and landing fighter jets
- 35 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines (2 parts)
- 105 AIM-120 C8 AMRAAM . medium-range air-to-air missiles
- 75 AGM-158B/B2 long-range air-to-surface missiles (JASSM-ER)
- 344 small diameter GBU-53 SDB-II bombs
- 162 BLU-109 2,000 lb . anti-bunker bombs
- 264 MK-82 500 pound general purpose bombs
- 180 JDAM guide kit for GBU-31
- 246 JDAM guide kits for GBU-54
- 75 AIM-9X Block II+ Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile.
The full list of accessory equipment such as training missiles, ground logistics equipment, software and maintenance support, personnel training and more is also detailed by DSCA.
From now on, the only thing left to do is finalize the final details and sooner rather than later, contracts will be signed and Germany will join the growing list of European countries that operate the only stealth fighter aircraft that can be exported from the US.