— task F-35 shows how closely related and coordinated the various industries are," said the dpa agency minister. “This is an global project. crucial parts of the F-35 are produced outside the US,” Pistorius stressed. In Germany, for example, Rheinmetall is active in production.
By ordering F-35, Germany secures its further participation in the sharing of atomic weapons — a concept of NATO deterrence in which allies have access to American atomic bombs in the event of war. — This is only possible with combat aircraft certified for this intent by the U.S. government. Only the F-35 can fill the gap that will arise at the end of the decade erstwhile Tornada reaches their age limit," Pistorius said.
Further string of article under video material
The reports of a possible distant shutdown (‘kill switch’) by the U.S. raised concerns about excessive dependence. The German Ministry of Defence denied these reports: "There is no way to deactivate the F-35 remotely," said the spokesman. He besides denied reports of a crisis gathering at the Ministry on American weapons,” writes the tagesschau portal.
The German government bought 35 F-35A combat aircraft for the Bundeswehr to supply itself with the most crucial kind of American protection – atomic deterrence against Russia. About 20 B61-12 atomic bombs are stored in Buechel's German-American base, each with 50 kiloton blast force. So far, the German army had Tornado aircraft adapted to carry atomic bombs. From 2027 Tornado machines will be replaced by F-35A.
