FILE PHOTO: A Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet performs during the International Aerospace Exhibition ILA on the opening day at Schoenefeld Airport in Berlin, Germany June 5, 2024. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File photo
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany plans to buy 15 additional F-35 fighter jets, Politico reported on Friday citing several people familiar with the matter, a move that would increase the country's planned fleet of the U.S.-made jet to 50.
The report comes amid tensions between Germany and France on the joint Franco-German fighter jet FCAS partnership, after a report earlier this week that France now wants a workshare of 80%.
The demand would scrap the agreed division of tasks and possibly stop the project from entering its next phase, an industry source told Reuters.
The reported German order would also align with an agreement between NATO allies to raise their collective spending goal to 5% of output over the next decade, citing the long-term threat posed by Russia and the need to strengthen civil and military resilience.
A spokesperson for the German Defence Ministry said it generally did not comment "on possible procurement plans before they have gone through parliament."
So far, Germany has ordered 35 F-35s to replace a total of 85 ageing Tornado fighter jets that will be decommissioned.
A military source told Reuters that the figure of 15 additional F-35 jets had been part of previous considerations, but that the numbers needed to be adapted after NATO's new targets for weapons and troop numbers.
The new targets suggest the initial figure was not large enough and the actual number of additional F-35s needed might be bigger in the end, although the source would not confirm this.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that differences remained on the configuration of the FCAS project, which has been plagued by delays and infighting over workshare and intellectual property rights.
(Writing by Friederike Heine; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Saad Sayeed)
