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Remarkable turnaround sees Germany pick F-35 and Eurofighter ECR

15th March 2022 - 14:45 GMT | by Tim Martin in Belfast

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Three F-35A fighter jets fly in formation during a training exercise (Photo: USAF)

Germany has decided it will buy both the F-35 and a Eurofighter electronic combat role aircraft, defying a proposal from the last government.

After previously excluding Lockheed Martin’s F-35A Joint Strike Fighter from consideration for future fighter requirements, Germany announced on 14 March that it will purchase the fifth-generation combat jet to replace a number of Panavia Tornado aircraft.

In an extraordinary turn of events, Christine Lambrecht, Germany’s defence minister, also confirmed that a new Eurofighter Electronic Combat Role (ECR) variant had been selected, scrapping a proposal from the last government to buy Boeing E/A-18G Growler Electronic Attack (EA) aircraft.

The F-35A is to be acquired in support of nuclear sharing missions and equipped with the B61 nuclear bomb or, more precisely, hold

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Tim Martin

Tim Martin is Air Editor for Shephard Media, based in Belfast.

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