The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) will have 20 additional Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz revealed at the opening of ILA 2024 in Berlin.
The new order will add to a batch of 38 fighters already under manufacture and are part of Germany’s effort to expand weapons production capacity.
“That is why we will order 20 more Eurofighters before the end of this legislative session — in addition to the 38 aircraft currently in the pipeline,” said Scholz.
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The reinforcement of the Luftwaffe fighter fleet reflects the increase in tensions in Europe following the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
Germany, which until then had maintained friendly relations with Moscow and was dependent on gas supplied by Russia, changed direction and began supporting the defense of Ukraine, along with other members of the European Union and NATO.
The turnaround comes after years in which NATO members’ defense spending target of 2% was repeatedly missed by the country.
In recent times, Germany decided to order new Typhoon in addition to choosing the 5th generation Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter to take the place of the Panavia Tornado as a nuclear missile vector.
The Luftwaffe currently has 138 Eurofighters in service in addition to 78 Tornado IDS. The first of 35 F-35s should be ready in 2026, but will only be sent to Germany in 2027 after training pilots and ground staff.