Germany May Refuse F-35 Purchase over ‘Emergency Switch;’ Consider Eurofighter Instead

Germany may refuse to purchase American F-35 fighter jets over the so-called ‘emergency switch’ that Washington can use to de-activate the aircraft if the client state refuses to follow Washington’s end-user conditions.

Instead, Germany is being urged by Airbus to consider the Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 5 which has many advanced features that fifth generation aircraft have.

German officials fear that the United States may at some point may deactivate and turn off the exported aircraft anywhere in the world over political differences, Bild Tabloid reported.

“If we have to worry that the US might do with future German F-35s what it is currently doing with Ukraine, we might consider terminating the treaty (to buy F-35  jets), said Wolfgang Ischinger, former head of the Munich Security Conference, in a commentary for German Tabloid Bild.

It is worth noting that this statement was made shortly after Washington suspended military aid to Ukraine and stopped providing the Ukrainian Armed Forces with intelligence data.

This decision by the American authorities greatly upset Europe. The statements by German officials about a possible refusal to purchase American F-35 fighters looks like an attempt to put pressure on Washington over its Ukraine policy.

Airbus executive calls for avoiding buying American equipment

The head of the military branch of the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus warned the future German government that “buying military products from the United States will only increase our dependence on other countries," said Michael Schöllhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space.

in an interview with the regional daily Augsburger Allgemeine on March 7, Schöllhorn said, “Germany, in particular, must realize that Europe is weak economically and militarily in this new era of history. Investing in defence also means investing in our economy and our society ," continued the Airbus manager.

Citing the case of Denmark in particular, he said, "The Danes, with their American F-35 planes, realize that it may not be such a good idea, if they were to one day have the idea of defending Greenland. They would not even get that far ," he said. As a reminder, Donald Trump has said he covets Greenland, a vast autonomous territory of Denmark, rich in minerals and hydrocarbons and will get Greenland, “one way or another.” 

Michael Schöllhorn believes that the chances of Berlin ordering more Eurofighters have now increased. “The Eurofighter is the backbone of the air force and with Tranche 5 we are preparing the aircraft for the future ," he says. "  I am optimistic that we will continue the good discussions with the new government and that we will quickly reach an order."