Luftwaffe looks at the F-35 - The Drive

Photo: The Drive

The German Air Force is reportedly looking for additional information about Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as it moves ahead with plans to replace its aging Panavia Tornado multi-role combat aircraft no later than 2035. The stealthy F-35 would be just one of multiple options Germany might consider as it looks to modernize its military in general.
 In May 2017, Germany’s air arm, also known as the Luftwaffe, asked the U.S. military for classified data on the Joint Strike Fighter, according to a report by Reuters. The letter highlighted the fact that German government and military officials had not yet decided on any particular plan to buy new warplanes of any kind.

Instead, the country’s Federal Ministry of Defense would "an in-depth evaluation of market available solutions, including the F-35, later this year," according to the document, which Reuters said it had reviewed. As such, “in order to understand [the] F-35's cutting-edge technologies, the German Air Force is requesting a classified brief of the F-35's capabilities in general and especially concerning sensor suites, information management and operational capabilities.”