German Air Force

Air warfare branch of the German military

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2025 PEGASUS surveillance aircraft expected to enter service and replace the Eurohawk.
December 2024 Approved modernization and maintenance of IRIS-T missiles.
December 2024 German parliament approved purchase of 120 and 128 Patriot PAC-3 MSE missiles in two separate instances.
November 2024 Approved for purchase of Meteor air-to-air missiles for €521 million.
August 2024 Germany cleared by DSCA to purchase up to 600 Patriot PAC-3 MSE missiles.
August 2024 First delivery of IRIS-T SLM air defense system batteries is scheduled.
July 2024 German parliament approved an additional 4 Patriot PAC-3+ fire units for €1.35 billion.
May 2024 Parliamentary Budget Committee approved purchase of an unspecified quantity of AIM-120C-8 missiles for €178 million.
March 2024 Confirmed order of 4 Patriot PAC-3+ fire units from Raytheon, with a cost of $1.2 billion.
February 2024 Ordered a space surveillance radar (Indra S3TSR 'L-Guard') from Indra in Spain.
December 2023 Framework agreement approved for up to 500 Patriot PAC-2 GEM-T missiles for €3.01 billion.
October 24 2023 The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic took over the MANTIS air defence system from the German Air Force at the 11th Air Force Brigade in Nitra, with the task of strengthening protection of the eastern border with Ukraine.
July 19 2023 The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) requested Congressional approval for a potential $2.90 billion military sales package for the German Air Force, including 969 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM missiles and related equipment.
June 12 2023 The German Air Force hosted Air Defender 23, the largest NATO air forces exercise, involving 25 nations and up to 10,000 troops, from June 12 to 23.
April 2023 Germany delivered 3 Patriot systems from storage to Ukraine.
February 7 2023 Germany announced donation of two MANTIS systems to Slovakia to strengthen Slovak air defences.
August 2022 The German Air Force deployed six Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, three Airbus A330 MRTT tankers, and four Airbus A400M Atlas transports to participate in Exercise Pitch Black in Australia, marking its largest peacetime deployment.
April 2022 Germany selected the CH-47F Chinook to replace its aging Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion fleet, with plans to purchase 60 CH-47F helicopters.
March 2022 German Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht announced plans to purchase 35 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets to replace the Tornado, with potential for an additional ten aircraft. Germany also planned to order 15 Eurofighter Typhoon electronic warfare aircraft.
February 21 2022 Christian Weiper's directorship concludes, and Alexander Kalweit becomes the new director
January 2022 The German government ended its participation in military operations in Syria and extended its mission in Iraq for an additional nine months.
2021 Germany ordered 3 PEGASUS surveillance aircraft (Global 6000) from Germany, Canada, and the United States to enter service by 2025 and replace the Eurohawk.
December 2021 Air Transport Wing 63 at Hohn Air Base was disbanded, marking the end of the German C-160 Transall fleet, with A400M and C-130J aircraft to serve as future tactical transport aircraft.
2020 Suspended the heavy transport helicopter program (STH) due to high costs of potential replacement helicopters.
April 2020 The German government announced its intention to purchase 30 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, 15 EA-18G Growlers, and 55 Eurofighter Typhoons as replacements for the Tornado fleet, with approval unlikely before 2022.
March 2020 Panavia Tornado IDS/ECR aircraft were retired from military operations by Tactical Air Force Wing 51 'Immelmann'.
September 2019 German Air Force transitioned from Airbus A310-304 MRTT to Airbus A400M Atlas for air support missions.
February 8 2019 Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke at the BND headquarters, acknowledging that ISIL remained a threat despite losing most of its territory, and emphasized the need for continued monitoring of the situation in Syria.
January 2019 Announced the shortlist for Tornado replacement narrowed to Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, after dropping the F-35 Lightning.
2018 Preparation for Air Defender 23 military exercise began, with initial planning and organizational stages initiated.
2018 Approved replacement of four Airbus A310 MRTT with Airbus A330 MRTT, in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
2018 Initiated a bid for a heavy transport helicopter program (STH) to replace aging Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters.
2018 Issued a request for information to manufacturers about potential aircraft to replace aging Panavia Tornados.
2018 Participated in the Israeli Air Force 'Blue Flag' international air combat exercise for the first time, with six Eurofighter Typhoon jets from Tactical Air Force Squadron 73 Steinhoff.
July 1 2018 Lieutenant Colonel Tobias Wunderle begins his tenure as conductor of the Air Force Band Erfurt on 1 July 2018, continuing to lead the band to the present time.
December 2017 MANTIS system first deployed to Mali, though without the guns.
October 4 2017 Four Tornado reconnaissance aircraft arrived in Jordan, reducing the fleet from six to four aircraft.
July 9 2017 The German military tanker aircraft arrived at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
June 2017 The German government decided to relocate troops from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan due to disputes with the Turkish government.
2016 A Eurofighter Typhoon with '60 years of Luftwaffe' commemorative painting was displayed, marking a significant anniversary.
November 2016 The Bremen-class frigate F213 Augsburg concluded its second deployment in the naval task force against the Islamic State.
November 10 2016 The parliamentary mandate for the mission was extended for another year, valid until 31 December 2017.
August 2016 The Bremen-class frigate F213 Augsburg resumed its deployment in the naval task force against the Islamic State.
March 2016 The Bremen-class frigate F213 Augsburg completed its first deployment in the naval task force against the Islamic State.
2015 Lieutenant Colonel Burkard Zenglein becomes the conductor of the Air Force Band Erfurt, leading the band from 2015 to 2018.
December 2015 The Bremen-class frigate F213 Augsburg joined the naval task force of the French aircraft carrier, contributing to the maritime operations against the Islamic State.
December 10 2015 Germany deployed an initial contingent of 40 personnel in an Airbus A400M Atlas aircraft and two Panavia Tornados to Incirlik Air Base, marking the start of their military intervention against the Islamic State.
December 4 2015 Germany authorized Operation Counter Daesh, its military intervention against the Islamic State, as a direct response to the November 2015 Paris attacks.
November 2015 The deployment of the Bundeswehr against the Islamic State began being discussed within the German government at the end of November.

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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles MANTIS Air Defence System, German Air Force, List of active equipment of the German Air Force, Air Force Band Münster, Air Defender 23, Air Force Band Erfurt & German intervention against the Islamic State, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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