Germany has already contracted 35 F-35As, and the extra plane would take its deliberate fleet to 50 airframes.
Practically seven months after German media reported the nation’s Minister of Protection Boris Pistorious backing his nation’s alternative to accumulate 35 F-35 Lightning IIs, and vehemently denying speculations a couple of rethink, Der Spiegel has now reported budgetary requests for a further 15 airframes.
The publication reported that the knowledge is among the many army tasks talked about in “confidential paperwork” submitted to the Bundestag’s Finances Committee. Ought to the brand new acquisition be accredited, the Luftwaffe’s deliberate fleet would attain 50 plane.
Quoting the labeled paperwork, Spiegel stated: “Pistorius’ planners estimate a price range of €2.5 billion for the 15 extra high-tech fighter jets from US producer Lockheed Martin.”
The primary of the Luftwaffe’s 35 F-35As are scheduled to be delivered by 2026-2027, as per the Dec. 15, 2023, $8.4 billion deal, and can be primarily based at Büchel Air Base. That base is residence to the thirty first Fighter-Bomber Squadron, and in addition shops American B61 nuclear bombs, for use by the Twister plane primarily based there as a part of NATO’s Nuclear Sharing Settlement.
🇩🇪 Spiegel stories that Germany is procuring a further 15 F-35A multi-role fighter jets to switch the ageing Twister.
Such a purchase order would deliver the overall German F-35A fleet to 50 plane, which, together with the 20 Eurofighter Tranche 5 and 15… pic.twitter.com/EeebaNdzR1
— Jeff2146🇧🇪 (@Jeff21461) October 20, 2025
Luftwaffe’s and Deutsche Marine’s present fleet and future plans
The F-35A is supposed to switch the Twister IDS (Interdictor/Strike) variant and take over NATO’s nuclear function, which the variable sweep plane has been assigned for years. Eurofighter Typhoons, additionally operated by Germany, should not licensed to hold that atomic weapon.
As per Flight World’s World Air Forces 2025 report, the Luftwaffe operates 64 Twister IDS jets – which were cleared to function the B61, and 21 Twister ECR (Digital Fight/Reconnaissance) jets. Its variety of Typhoons at present stands at 129 plane and, on Oct. 15, 2025, Germany ordered 20 new Tranche 5 jets, every week after the Bundestag accredited the acquisition on Oct. 8.
Germany additionally desires 4 extra P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Plane, based on price range and naval plans, taking its whole future fleet to 12 plane, from the eight it had initially contracted. Germany obtained the primary of its P-8As on Oct. 2.
NEW: Germany plans to purchase 15 extra F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin for about €2.5 billion, on high of the 35 already ordered.
Supply: Reuters pic.twitter.com/0s95dOZlvs
— Conflict Report (@clashreport) October 20, 2025
‘Extra F-35As are essential’
The stories about Germany reconsidering its participation within the F-35 program got here amid rumors in regards to the U.S. wielding a particular “kill swap” to remotely deactivate all international F-35 fleets in retaliation for diplomatic dissent. Nonetheless, as we defined right here at The Aviationist, the management over F-35s has extra to do with proscribing the provision of components, parts or important software program upgrades that may hamper the stealth jet’s operational functionality, and even flyability.
Der Spiegel quoted unnamed officers from “safety circles,” who stated that the “renewal of the Air Pressure fleet is strategically necessary [and] important” for each the “nuclear sharing” function and for the Bundeswehr to “meet the brand new NATO necessities” sooner or later. “The alliance has considerably strengthened its protection and deterrence plans as a result of Russian risk, and air superiority is taken into account a central aspect of the brand new idea,” added the report.
Early in September, drones from Russia violated Polish airspace, spurring NATO to launch Operation Jap Sentry in Poland, with the RAF’s Typhoons from RAF Coningsby additionally deploying within the effort to bolster the alliance’s japanese flank. On Oct. 15, Pistorious introduced German contributions to NATO’s Enhanced Vigilance Exercise Jap Sentry, itemizing Luftwaffe’s deployment to Poland’s Malbork, apart from its jets already deployed to Constanta in Romania.
“To safe our capabilities over the approaching years, Germany will make investments €10 billion in drones of all kinds and all altitudes – each assault and defence drones – consistent with its price range planning,” additional stated the report. On the naval entrance, DW talked about in a Might 16, 2025, report German and British efforts to develop a long-range missile, and future joint ASW and maritime patrol operations within the North Sea and North Atlantic.
Luftwaffe Typhoons, together with jets from Finland, Poland, and the U.S. as “contributor” nations, are at present collaborating in NATO’s annual Steadfast Midday nuclear deterrence train. Train operations are centered at Volkel Air Base (Netherlands), Royal Air Pressure Lakenheath (United Kingdom), Kleine-Brogel Air Base (Belgium), and Skrydstrup Air Base (Denmark).
The F-35 and the Twister are NATO’s “twin succesful” plane which, as talked about earlier, are cleared to function the B61-12 nuclear bomb. The arrival of F-35As with the service will naturally increase NATO’s nuclear supply arsenal in Europe.
Steadfast Midday is scheduled to run till October 24, involving 70 plane from 14 Allied international locations and takes place throughout 4 host nations, in addition to the airspace over the North Sea area.📸@SHAPE_NATO
Study Extra: pic.twitter.com/iKNck2h8pf
— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) October 20, 2025
Price implications and FCAS
The Der Spiegel report nonetheless cited price implications of the present infrastructure work at Büchel Air Base to help the F-35As, which have risen from the unique €700 million to €2 billion. In a earlier report, Der Spiegel famous the necessity to rent extra personnel to hurry up the work, the technical complexity of building at excessive altitudes and rising constructing materials costs contributing to the spike in prices.
❗️🇩🇪Germany plans to buy a further 15 🇺🇸American F-35A fighters to the 35 already ordered pic.twitter.com/nofrAXVtd5
— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@front_ukrainian) October 20, 2025
Germany would doubtless additionally want extra fifth technology fighters following its divergence with France over the sixth-generation FCAS (Future Fight Air System). This divergence emerged as Dassault is demanding 80% of the workshare, as a substitute of the 50% to separate the work equally with companions Airbus and Indram, with the intention to get the delayed program transferring.
