On Tuesday, September 8, the first F-35A Lightning II fighter for the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) made its first flight from the Lockheed Martin production plant in Fort Worth, Texas, reports The Aviationist.
This event can be considered historic without exaggeration, as Germany has never used fifth-generation stealth fighters before. The published photos show the F-35A - with the tail number 35+01 - in the colors of the German Air Force.
According to specialized aviation media, Germany has ordered 35 F-35A fighters in 2022 in a deal worth more than $8 billion. These aircraft will be stationed at Büchel Air Base from 2027; infrastructure improvements are currently being made to the site.
The F-35A will serve as a key aircraft for Germany within the framework of NATO's "Nuclear Resource Sharing" deterrence concept. It is intended to replace the aging Tornado IDS fighter-bombers and will serve as a delivery platform for B61-12 nuclear bombs.
Germany is already considering the possibility of increasing the number of F-35A ordered in the future. Reports indicate that the military is seeking to expand the fleet to 50 aircraft by purchasing an additional 15 F-35s.
The F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation multirole stealth fighter developed by the American company Lockheed Martin.
There are three main versions of the aircraft: the standard F-35A; the F-35B, capable of short takeoff and vertical landing; and the carrier-based F-35C, designed for the US Navy. The F-35 is the most widely produced fifth-generation fighter in history; over 1,300 aircraft have been built in various configurations to date. The F-35 can carry a wide range of advanced precision-guided air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons - both in internal bays (to maintain low visibility) and on external support points.