https://thedefensepost.com/2026/08/20/germany-first-f35a-assembly/
nice!
>>65453465It is nice!
>>65453439Fat ugly and gay
>>65454356Ok, Anon. What current plane do you like?
>>65454356I know what you are but what am I?
>>65454356BRICSjitasister...
The first 8 jets will remain in the US for training in Arkansas at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, where the USAF hosts the international flight school for FMS customers. The 9th jet will be the first jet to actually fly to germany.
OUUUUUGH
>>65454468Why don't they train in Italy?They were approved as the first overseas F-35 pilot school earlier in the year
>>65453439yfw France doesn't have a 5th-gen fighter
>>65455804France is like the Kazakhstan of Europe
>>65455868
>>65455783That's likely where continued training will happen, but the first full set of pilots will train in the US.
>>65453439May it serve them better than their prior Lockheed.
>Falling for burger scams instead of going with SaabgrimAlmost as bad as going with russian hardware
>>65456071Anon, these were bought to carry the B61 nuclear bomb.The only planes available for that role that made any sense to purchase was the F-15EX or the F-35. Saab, rafale, eurofighter were never serious options or choices available as the certification process with the US would take a decade and would require the manufacturer to give up the software source code to the US to audit.
>>65456132Delete this
>>65456071>>65456132it's so stupid when people suggest Gripen or Rafale were ever an option for Germany, just shows they are completely clueless about military procurementGermany rightly wants the F-35 for stealth and B61 compatibility, but if it didn't want US fighters it would just go with a pure Eurofighter fleet. Zero reason to buy Gripen or Rafale when the EF is better and produced locally.
>>65453439Germoney should buy another 48 of those because, let's be Franklin, it's still gonna take a while before the Tempest fighter goes airborne.
>>65454356ur mom is gae
>>65455868If only. The Muslims from Kazakhstan are far more civilized than the savages from France.
>>65459411current order is 35 I think, not 48. but an increase to a total of ~64 is very likely.
>>65459459NTA; I bet they wait until February 2029 to pencil in the expanded order.
>>65459393Yeah but they were told it would take 7-10 years to certify the Eurofighter, AND it would've required the eurofighter consortium as a whole to agree to allow the US access to the source code, which germany alone can't do. And while the UK, Italy, and Spain likely would've given access if push came to shove, the F-35 purchase just makes more sense; it's cheaper, it's faster (for entry to service), and it's more capable.
>>65459463I don't get why now that FCAS is officially dead but yeah seems they'll still wait.>>65459464preaching to the choir. I agree F-35A makes sense for Germany. I'm just annoyed by clueless people suggesting the Gripen or Rafale would make sense for Germany under any circumstance
>>65459474>I don't get why now that FCAS is officially dead but yeah seems they'll still wait.All foreign policy is domestic. The Germans will wait until the next American administration comes in before making a major defense purchase.That's just my opinion, though.
>>65459474>I don't get why now that FCAS is officially dead but yeah seems they'll still wait.Politicians play the short term game and the industry knows that so they'll milk Team Gen 6 momentum for some development contracts in the wake of FCAS while eventually the politicians will be forced to buy F-35, but they'll wait as long as possible to make the announcement.
