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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 project, after a report earlier this week that France now wants a workshare of 80%.
The German defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
So far, Germany has ordered 35 F-35 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 had been part of previous considerations, but that the numbers needed to be adapted after NATO recently agreed new targets for weapons and troop numbers.
In the light of these targets, it was unlikely that the initial figure was still realistic. This suggests that the actual number of additional F-35 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 project, which has been plagued by delays and infighting over workshare and intellectual property rights.
Should France stick to its demand, the resulting differences among project partners would make it unlikely that the project could enter its next phase as scheduled by the end of this year, an industry source told Reuters.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Friederike Heine; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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