Berlin has started spending a massive fund to strengthen the country’s military, and on December 14, German legislators approved a set of defense procurements, including the buying of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets.
Germany plans to replace Tornado bombers with 35 nuclear-capable F-35A Lightning IIs. The parliament’s budget committee has approved a series of projects amounting to 13 billion euros.
Ingo Gerhartz, the commander of the German air force, stated that F-35 pilot training will begin in 2026 and the first aircraft would then arrive in 2027.
The 100 billion euro fund to update the military was approved by parliament in June. It was announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz a few days after Russia invaded Ukraine.