THE BUNDESWEHR (German Armed Forces) announced it will procure a total of 35 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation fighter aircraft after its budget committee approved the approximately €10bn purchase on December 14. With deliveries expected to take place between 2026 and 2029, the F-35As have been purchased to replace the Luftwaffe's ageing fleet of Panavia Tornado IDS ground attack/strike aircraft. This plan was initially announced on March 14, 2022, and comes as part of the Germany's newly injected €100bn defence budget to modernise and overhaul its armed forces, which was announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz just weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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