The replacement of the German Tornado seems to have become the focal point of Lockheed and the US Air Force, which does not spare itself in trying to seduce the government and the German public opinion, despite the government's announcements in favor of optimized Air-Ground version of Typhoon. France has, through the intermediary of the DGA, also taken a position in favor of the European plane, warning Berlin that the choice of the F-35 could question the Franco-German collaboration concerning the new generation fighter FCAS. These positions are indicative of the intense lobbying initiated by the F-35 camp, which relies on strong support from the Luftwaffe. Its Chief of Staff will have paid with his position for his too marked support for the American aircraft.
The argument deployed by Lockheed and the US Air Force in favor of the F-35, and which visibly hit the mark within the Luftwaffe, and the same as that which led Germany to choose the Patriot Pac-3 to the detriment of the Eurosam SAMP/T Mamba system, namely integration into the NATO defense network, preventing perfect integration of other systems. Like the F-35, the Pac-3 is much more expensive, and in many ways less efficient, than its European counterpart. But faced with the assistance needs of the German army, which only the United States is able to provide, alignment with US equipment and doctrines appears to be an attractive alternative.
To reverse this process, in addition to the essential political will at the European level, it will be necessary for a European nation to sufficiently develop its military and industrial defense tools, to appear as a credible alternative to the American shield. If the LPM 2019-2025 will effectively rebuild the capabilities of the French armies, their format, inherited from the LBDSN 2013, remains very insufficient for France to be able to fulfill this role.