German Air Force Commander Threatened With Firing If He Mentions “F-35”
Germany is looking for a replacement for its aging Tornado fighter jets, but does not want to choose the US F-35 stealth fighter.
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German Air Force Commander Karl Muellner. Photo:Luftwaffe. |
"A German air force source revealed that the commander of this force will likely be fired if he mentions the word "F-35" in public again. It seems that the leadership is still leaning towards solutions such as Typhoon or a new European fighter model,"Sputnikquoted military expert Christian Theils said earlier this week.
Two months ago, German Air Force Commander Karl Muellner announced that the country needed "fifth generation fighters to meet all operational requirements." This was considered a strong signal, showing that Berlin was ready to order the F-35 stealth aircraft, which was considered too expensive and had many technical errors.
The German Air Force is considering a range of fighters to replace the aging Panavia Tornado, including the F-35 JSF, F-15 Eagle, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Eurofighter Typhoon. Of these, only the F-35 meets the criteria mentioned by General Muellner.
However, German defense officials have sought to distance themselves from Mr. Muellner's statements about choosing the F-35. German Deputy Defense Minister Ralf Brauksiepe affirmed in December 2017 that the Typhoon fighter was the top choice to replace the domestic Tornado model, with American aircraft such as the F-15, F/A-18E/F and F-35 only being "secondary solutions."
The purchase of F-35 fighter jets could cause political disagreement, after Germany and France announced plans to jointly develop the fifth-generation fighter with European partners. This is an ambitious but very expensive project, which could force the two countries to cut their budgets for social programs.
Another issue is the ability to use nuclear weapons on the new fighter. The upgraded Typhoon version can deploy B-61 nuclear bombs, while the F-35 can only carry these weapons after 2020.
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Türkiye collectively possess 200 B-61 nuclear bombs as part of their NATO commitments. If Germany does not choose the aircraft to carry nuclear weapons, it will have to transfer them to other NATO members.
