Germany moves forward with F-35A procurement

Germany announced today that it is moving forward with a planned buy of 35 F-35A fighter jets, making the country the program's ninth foreign military sales participant.

The official signing of the letter of offer and acceptance to procure the platforms comes after the framework won approval from the German parliament’s budget committee, the nation’s defense ministry said in a news release.

A summer Defense Security Cooperation Agency release announcing the State Department’s approval of the sale estimated the cost to be $8.4 billion.

The deal, which F-35 airframe maker Lockheed Martin said in a release today includes engines, mission equipment, spare parts, technical and logistics support and training, clears the way for the replacement of Germany’s legacy Tornado fighter-bomber fleet.

Lockheed’s release states that by the 2030s, more than 550 F-35s are expected to operate from at least 10 European countries, including two full squadrons at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom.

Under the deal, the first eight F-35s are expected to be delivered to Germany in 2026, recent media reports show.