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Germany will replace some of its aging Tornado bomber jets with U.S.-made F-35A Lightning II aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the country’s defense minister said Monday. Announcing the decision, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Germany also will upgrade its Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets for electronic warfare — a capability that’s also currently fulfilled by the Tornado jets. The Eurofighter will be replaced beginning in 2040 with the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, that’s being jointly developed with France and Spain, she said. Germany’s air force commander, Ingo Gerhartz, said the Russian war in Ukraine made it necessary to...

BERLIN: Germany will pick either the Eurofighter or Boeing's F/A-18 fighter jet to replace its Tornado warplanes, knocking Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter out of a tender worth billions of euros, Defence Ministry sources said on Thursday (Jan 31). The ministry will make a final decision after receiving detailed information from Boeing and Airbus about the aircraft, which must be able to carry US nuclear weapons to fulfill Germany's obligations to NATO, the sources said. No timetable for a decision was given, but the process could take time since the US government will have to certify both jets to carry...

The German Defense Ministry is reportedly in talks with its US counterpart to hammer out details for the Bundeswehr to join possible airstrikes by US, British and French forces on Syrian targets, Germany's mass-circulation Bild newspaper reported on Monday. The report suggests Germany's conservative defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, has responded to a US request, which was followed by a meeting of high-ranking ministry and military officials from both countries.

German officials have reportedly asked their American counterparts about whether it would be possible to turn the Eurofighter Typhoon into a nuclear strike aircraft. The answer to this question could have serious ramifications on Germany’s effort to replace its aging Panavia Tornado combat jets, which are certified to carry U.S. B61 nuclear bombs during a crisis as part of an inter-NATO agreement, and reinforces previous reports that the European fighter jet is the German Air Force’s preferred option. In April 2018, the German Federal Ministry of Defense sent a formal letter to U.S. officials asking about whether it would be...

A Portland woman ignited a social media fire this week over a confrontation with a restaurant diner she says was wearing a shirt with a Nazi symbol. As Raw Story first reported, on March 13, Deavon Snoke was dining at Kachka—a Russian restaurant owned by Bonnie Frumkin Morales, who is Jewish and whose family fled the Holocaust, and her husband Israel Morales, who is Mexican—when she spotted a man sporting a "Luftwaffe" t-shirt. “I was asked to leave Kachka tonight for calling this Nazi out,” Snoke wrote on Facebook. “Remember his face. Memorize the symbolism on his shirt. Yell as...

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German Defence Ministry said on Monday that the European fighter jet was the leading candidate to replace its Tornado jets, which it wants to start phasing out in 2025. The ministry’s position appears to contradict that of the German air force, whose chief indicated last month that he preferred Lockheed Martin’s F-35, which meets the military’s requirements of stealth and long-distance operational capabilities. In a letter to a Greens lawmaker who had inquired about the deliberations, the ministry said the F-35 and Boeing’s F-15 and F-18 fighters were secondary options. “The indicated view of the inspector...

A German Second World War pilot has made his maiden voyage in a Spitfire seven decades after he flew for the Luftwaffe. Hugo Broch, 95, who last flew in 1960, took to the skies above Kent on Tuesday as a passenger in a British TR9 MJ627 Spitfire. Born on January 6 1922, Broch is a former Messerschmitt 109 fighter pilot and Luftwaffe ace. During his career, Broch flew 324 combat missions and shot down 81 enemy aircraft on the Eastern Front, including 18 Soviet Sturmoviks. His score included twelve double victories and three triple victories.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Berlin may pull its troops from Turkey following a recent deterioration in relations. The chancellor’s latest warning comes after Turkey denied visas to German lawmakers who wanted to visit troops at the Incirlik air base, located near Adana in south Turkey. “We will continue to talk with Turkey, but in parallel we will have to explore other ways of fulfilling our mandate,” Merkel said at a press conference on Monday. “That means looking at alternatives to İncirlik, and one alternative among others is Jordan,” she said. …

Put yourself in the shoes of a German pilot during World War II. It’d be more than just a bit concerning if your assignment was to fly the “Flaming Coffin,” a.k.a. the “One Way Bomber” or “Volcano.” But the hot, flammable He 177 Greif, or Griffin, was Nazi Germany’s only long-range heavy bomber produced in appreciable numbers. The 35-ton machine — when fully loaded — was a mistake, and more importantly, contributed to the German defeat by sucking up valuable resources into an ineffective and compromised aircraft.

After twenty years in service, the Eurofighter aircraft may be temporarily or permanently withdrawn from the German market, German newspaper Die Welt wrote. The final assembly of Eurofighter jets that once were considered a prestige project is likely to be suspended in Germany at least until 2018. The main problem is the lack of contracts and the complexity of the production process. The components of the aircraft are manufactured at four plants in Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, which makes the production very complicated and expensive. "It resembles a huge puzzle: all right wings are produced in Spain, the left...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday backed a call from Turkey for a no-fly zone over parts of Syria, saying it would alleviate the situation of displaced Syrians. "In the current situation it would be helpful, if there could be such an area, where none of the parties are allowed to launch aerial attacks, that is to say, a kind of no-fly zone," she told the daily Stuttgarter Zeitung, when asked about opening up such areas to host people fleeing fighting in the war-torn country. Merkel's call came on the same day that the Luftwaffe (German air force) confirmed Russian...

Only 29 of Germany's 66 Tornado jets are airworthy, a defence ministry report has revealed. It comes two days before German MPs are expected to vote in favour of military action against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria. Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has stressed that only six of the operational Tornado jets would be needed for the proposed mission. A vote on the UK's involvement takes place in parliament on Wednesday. Germany decided to join the fight against IS after an appeal by French President Francois Hollande in the wake of the 13 November Paris attacks. But the...

(MENAFN - AFP) A manufacturing fault has been discovered in the Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes, Germany said Tuesday, announcing it was suspending deliveries of the sophisticated jets. The news was another blow to the troubled and costly Eurofighter programme -- and raised concerns over the use of the planes. According to Germany's defence ministry, the defect discovered was in the rear fuselage of the twin-engine multirole fighter. As a result, Berlin has decided to cut the time its Eurofighters spend in the air each year in half, from 3,000 hours to 1,500 hours. The news website Spiegel Online reported that, in...

The deployment of four UK Royal Air Force Tornadoes to perform overwatch of Iraq, and an unconfirmed report last week that more might be deployed for surveillance of northern Nigeria, serves to illustrate the ongoing value of the aging but effective “Tonka.” Although the RAF fleet is scheduled to be retired in 2019 in favor of the F-35, upgrades continue, with another one announced recently. Meanwhile, the German air force intends to keep its Tornado fleet until at least 2025, with its own upgrades. Tornado surveillance of northern Iraq has demonstrated the value of the Rafael Litening III targeting pod...

Several "concerned local veterans" have reportedly pointed out that Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA) of the 26th congressional district sent a political mailer to her constituents in July that featured a stock photo of a "veteran" wearing a hat bearing a German Lutwaffe insignia, according to the Daily Caller. "The photograph is likely a purchased stock photo of a model in a costume contrived from various emblems to look like an official naval uniform. However it is clearly not an American Navy uniform, or that of any U.S. military branch," said Brownley's opponent, Republican Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) in a press...

Germany’s defense minister plans to equip the country’s newly all-volunteer military with better childcare, more attractive barracks and Internet access—giving it a facelift as it competes with business for new recruits in a humming economy. Ursula von der Leyen, who became Germany’s first female defense minister in December and is widely considered a potential successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel, on Wednesday set out plans to put €100 million ($136 million) over the next five years into dusting off the Bundeswehr’s starchy image. …

*Luftwaffe pilot Lt Franz Stigler refused to shoot down near-destroyed Allied bomber *Instead he guided stricken pilot Lt Charlie Brown to safety *A phone call led to a tearful reunion of the two World War II veterans The lone Allied bomber was a sitting duck. Holed all over by flak and bullets and down to a single good engine, it struggled simply to stay in the air over Germany, let alone make it the 300 miles back to England.

PICTURE: German air force to bid 'Pharewell' to last F-4Fs Germany will retire its last operational McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom IIs on 29 June, with the veteran type's duties having been assumed by Eurofighter units. After almost 40 years of service, the final interceptors will be retired during a decommissioning event to be staged at the Luftwaffe's Wittmund air base. The final German examples are operated by the air force's JG 71 "Richthofen" squadron, which was also the first to begin flying the type, in March 1974. Delivered in 1973, its first F-4F, 37+01, received a special livery for the...

ADOLF HITLER'S PLOT TO BOMB NEW YORK Newly discovered papers reveal the Nazis’ most bizarre plan – sending manned rockets into space to attack America. The head of the Luftwaffe Hermann Goering banged his fi st on the table in anger. He needed a dynamic new scheme to catch the Fuhrer’s eye. In the warped world of the Third Reich, competition between the German army and the German air force – the Luftwaffe – was fierce. Under Adolf Hitler’s power-crazed dictatorial leadership senior Nazis vied and tussled for infl uence throughout the Second World War. At the end of 1941,...

Saw this listed on another forum, http://www.militaryphotos.netA gent has taken the time to gather info regarding downed aircraft.Interesting stuff.Luftwaffe wreck sites in Norway