Germany Receives First F-35A Lightning II in Landmark NATO Ceremony

Germany Receives First F-35A Lightning II in Landmark NATO Ceremony
Lockheed Martin ©

Lockheed Martin has handed over Germany’s first F-35A Lightning II fighter jet, marking a major step for the Luftwaffe and NATO interoperability, as per a recent press statement from the company. The handover took place at Lockheed Martin’s F-35 production facility, with senior German and American government and military officials in attendance.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius commented: “This is the beginning of a new era for the German Air Force: the new F-35A fighter jet is the world’s most advanced combat aircraft.” He added that the aircraft’s stealth capabilities, sensor technology and data fusion would give Germany “a decisive key capability” for both the Luftwaffe and the wider Alliance. The first jets arrive this year, with full operational capability targeted for 2029.

Germany joins 20 nations, including 13 in Europe, operating the fifth-generation aircraft. Lieutenant General Holger Neumann, Chief of the German Air and Space Force, commented that the F-35 would reshape how the force thinks, commands and fights, while linking Germany to the broader international F-35 community.

OJ Sanchez, President of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, added that the aircraft represents a strategic capability built on more than 50 years of transatlantic partnership.

Germany’s programme of record covers 35 F-35As. The first eight jets will go to Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas (ANGB) for pilot training this autumn, ahead of the first aircraft arriving in Germany in late 2027.

German industry has contributed to the F-35 programme since 2001, with Lockheed Martin continuing to explore further industrial partnerships across the country.

Learn more on Lockheed Martin’s website

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