A Letter of Acceptance (LoA) was signed by Germany’s Ministry of Defense for the acquisition of 35 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. A deal that will commence with the training of German pilots on the first German planes in the United States in 2026 following a transfer to Büchel air base in Germany the following year. Lockheed Martin did not elaborate on Germany’s decision to opt for US rather than European production, production that will take place at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility.

Germany is the ninth foreign military sales country to join the F-35 program behind Japan, South Korea, Israel, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

The F-35 was chosen for the because is considered the most suitable replacement for Germany’s retiring Tornado aircraft fleet in support of NATO’s nuclear sharing mission, while the F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofighter 2000 would have required longer times because they need to be certified for the B61 nuclear bombs.

In addition to the 35 aircraft and their engines, the FMS (Foreign Military Sale) includes two spare engines, 100x AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles; 75x AGM-158B/B2 JASSM-ER air-launched cruise missiles; 344x GBU-53 SDB II; kits for 162x GBU-31 JDAM bombs with BLU-109 2,000 lb warhead; kits for 246x GBU-54 Laser JDAM bombs with Mk-82 500 warhead; 75x AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder air-to-air missiles; inert weapons for training.

“Congratulations to Germany on procuring the F-35A. Germany is the ninth foreign military sales country to join the program,” said Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, F-35 Program Executive Officer. “We look forward to working with them to deliver the F-35 Air System to meet their national defense requirements.”

An initial operational capability is expected to be declared by the Luftwaffe in 2028.  Luftwaffe Chief of Staff Lt Gen. Ingo Gerhartz confirmed that the process to select a contractor to build the new facilities for the F-35 has already started and that officials will try to condense the permitting and construction process, which usually can take six or seven years, to meet the envisioned 2027 target.

A portion of the German F-35s is expected to be built at the Final Assembly Check Out (FACO) facility in Cameri, Italy. “The most likely scenario would be that they receive some aircraft from Cameri and some aircraft from Fort Worth,” said J.R. McDonald, the vice president of F-35 business development at Lockheed Martin. “Building exclusively at Cameri may stretch out the delivery time.” The number of aircraft to be built in Italy, however, has not been disclosed.