Germany Plans to Order 15 More U.S.-Made F-35 Jets, Sources Say

Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is planning to order 15 additional F-35 fighter jets from U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), a parliamentary source told Reuters on Monday, confirming a report published by Der Spiegel magazine.

According to confidential documents prepared for the parliamentary budget committee, planners estimate that the additional aircraft would cost around €2.5 billion ($2.9 billion), the source said.

Germany has already ordered 35 U.S.-made F-35 jets to replace its ageing fleet of 85 Tornado fighters, which are scheduled to be decommissioned. The F-35s are designated to carry U.S. nuclear bombs stored in Germany in the event of a conflict, replacing the Tornado’s role in NATO’s nuclear-sharing arrangement.

Berlin had previously rejected plans to purchase 15 more F-35s in July, but a recent increase in the defence budget has created more room for new weapons procurement.

At the time, a military source told Reuters that the idea of buying an additional 15 aircraft had already been part of earlier discussions.

Any decision to acquire more F-35s could, however, reignite tensions between Germany and France, which remain at odds over their troubled joint fighter jet initiative — the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), known in French as SCAF.