Even as Berlin studies aircraft options ‒ including the F-35 ‒ to replace its fleet of Tornado fighters, it seems the decision may be driven more by politics than by a technical assessment of military aircraft sophistication.
The US might push the German Ministry of Defense toward its own expensive aircraft, Business Insider opined Tuesday. As commander in chief, US President Donald Trump has touted sales of aircraft, missiles and other armaments to nations including Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
Trump has called on NATO members to spend more money on their militaries and has singled out Germany specifically, which is on pace to attain the largest current account surplus in the world in 2018, the Financial Times reported Monday.
Germany buying F-35s would benefit Lockheed Martin, the US defense giant based in Maryland. Germany has limited its search to four aircraft, with Lockheed Martin's F-35 one of them. The remaining menu options include Boeing's F-15 Strike Eagles and F/A-18 Super Hornets as well as the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The F-35 has already become a political third rail in Germany: after being warned that expressing a preference in favor of the F-35 could get him fired, the German air force's chief of staff was sent to an early retirement anyway, though it was unclear if he actually violated the ultimatum. According to Handelsblatt, a German business newspaper, the ouster was “overtly political.”
“This overtly political move…
