According to German daily newspaper Der Spiegel, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer reportedly contacted her American counterpart Mark Esper directly to inform him of her country's intention toacquire 30 F / A 18 E / F Super Hornet fighter jets and 15 EA-18G Growler electronic warplanes, to partly replace its Tornado fleet specialized in electronic warfare missions and suppression of opposing anti-aircraft defenses, as well as those responsible for ensuring the permanence of NATO's nuclear deterrent by transporting the B-nuclear bomb 61. According to numerous sources, it is this last point which led the German federal government to favor the Super Hornet from the American Boeing over the Typhoon of Airbus Defense & Space, the American authorities having announced that theadaptation of Typhoon to implement the B61 bomb could not be considered before a decade at best.
In fact, once the choice of the F18 had been made to ensure nuclear missions for the benefit of NATO, the Luftwaffe had no other choice but to increase the fleet of aircraft of this type to ensure a consistent volume of forces. in terms of maintenance and implementation. This explains why; rather than equipping just 15 F / A 18 F Super Hornets to form the German deterrent squadron, the fleet format was expanded to 30 Super Hornets and 15 Growlers, sacrificing the efforts of Airbus DS in the process. in the field of electronic warfare for develop your Typhoon ECR.
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