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| The Purchase of F-35 by the German Government Protested by Local Industry |
Berlin - Germany, which was previously quite passive in weapons acquisition policies, is now more attractive in allocating its defense budget of $113 billion. This program includes the purchase of the US F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter from Lockheed Martin.
Previously, Berlin had announced its intention to acquire the F-35 in March. The F-35 is planned to replace the role of the Eurofighter Typhoon. However, the decision taken by the German government still caused turmoil in the country.
Minister of Defense Mrs. Christine Lambrecht and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are thought to have made the wrong decision. This opinion, wrote the Bulgarian Military, did not come from the people. But from the German defense industry and the German aerospace industry association (BDLI).
This is because Berlin has reached an agreement with Washington in which German companies will not take part in the maintenance, repair or servicing of the aircraft. All the money goes to the US and several other European countries which will take over the servicing and maintenance of the fighter planes.
BDLI even gave the example of the recent purchase of F-35s that were negotiated with various European countries to get local maintenance contracts. Even Switzerland, which is generally not an active participant in the international arms market, managed to negotiate a 3 billion USD contract to service its aircraft maintenance.
The German publication Wirtschaft has published its latest report, which says that this order is a blow to the German arms industry. BDLI even commented on the actions of the German government and criticized it, noting that in Berlin they did not even think about the option in which genuine local production would participate. One of the main players in the field of aviation, Airbus also shared his opinion.
Airbus Helicopters Managing Director Wolfgang Schöder said the government's actions not only threaten the existence of the domestic defense industry, but also the technologies that have been developed locally in recent decades.
Schoeder made the announcement at a time when Berlin is prepared to spend more than $16 billion on the purchase of new F-35 and CH-47F Chinook heavy lift helicopters.