Germany's defence minister receives first F-35 jet amid European fighter shortfall
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius took delivery of the Bundeswehr's inaugural F-35 in Texas, citing the absence of a European fifth-generation fighter.
In Texas, Boris Pistorius formally accepted the first F-35 aircraft destined for the German armed forces. He argued that Europe lacks a domestic fifth-generation combat jet, especially after the Franco-German FCAS programme collapsed. The handover underscores Germany's growing reliance on U.S. technology for its air-defence modernization. Experts warn that this dependence could create strategic vulnerabilities. The event w.
Why it matters
Germany's first F-35 signals deeper U.S. reliance for European air power amid a stalled indigenous fighter program.
In this story
F-35fifth-generation fighterGermany defenceEuropean fighter gapFCAS failureTexas handoverBoris Pistorius
