German Armed Forces receives second Airbus A350-900
The handover ceremony was attended by the grandson of Germany's first Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, after whom the aircraft is named. (Photo: Lufthansa Technik)
Lufthansa Technik delivered a second Airbus A350-900 aircraft to the German Armed Forces on 16 November.
The aircraft will join the fleet of the Federal Ministry of Defence’s Special Air Mission Wing for long-haul political and parliamentary flight operations.
In total, the German government has ordered three A350s, the first of which entered service in 2020, while the final aircraft flew in September 2021 and is expected to enter service in 2023.
The three new aircraft will replace the German Armed Forces’ two Airbus A340-300s, which have both been in service for over 20 years.
Following the handover, the aircraft was transferred to its new base at Cologne and may have already formally entered into service.
More from Air Warfare
-
German Navy in “ramp-up” phase as it welcomes first NH90 Sea Tiger delivery
With all 31 aircraft set to be delivered by 2030, the helicopters will gradually replace the ageing Sea Lynx fleet which are due to be retired in 2026.
-
Germany acquires additional 20 H145M helicopters
The order for the extra helicopters comes from an agreement penned in December 2023, with the German Army receiving the bulk of the platforms.
-
Anduril UK and GKN Aerospace collaborate on British Army ACP bid
The pair will submit their demonstrator concept for Project Nyx, a development project for the British Army’s Land Autonomous Collaborative Platform.
-
US Army command’s Picatinny CLIK common lethal drone interface makes progress
The Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit is designed to overcome the issue of unique integration methods between lethal payloads and drones as well as avoiding problematic acquisition conditions created by vendor lock.