Germany’s first of 35 F-35A Lightning II fighters has been presented to the German government at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
The rollout comes a month after the aircraft completed final assembly in August. Lockheed will first deliver Berlin’s inaugural F-35A along with the first seven aircraft to Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas to train pilots and maintenance crews.
The initial tranche is scheduled to arrive in Germany by late 2027, with full operational capability expected by 2029.
The Luftwaffe’s first F-35 will “not only bring significant changes in our Air and Space Force but will also influence how we think, command and fight … That strengthens Germany – and, at the same time, NATO,” said Lieutenant General Holger Neumann, Chief of the German Air and Space Force.
German F-35 Fleet
The European NATO country signed a deal in December 2022 to acquire the fifth-generation stealth fighters, replacing its aging Tornado fleet while strengthening mission readiness across the alliance.
As the F-35 is in service with several NATO nations — including Denmark, Finland, Poland, and the US — German defense minister Boris Pistorius highlighted the “interoperability that opens up numerous opportunities for training, exercises, and operations, making us stronger together.”
Germany may also potentially purchase more US-made F-35 aircraft since the collapse of the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project in June.
Following the fallout, Pistorius said that the government is still deciding whether to acquire more F-35s as a “bridge” option, join an existing next-generation program, or develop an Airbus-led domestic effort, according to Politico.
