German Air Force

The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of then West Germany. After the reunification of West and East Germany in 1990, it integrated parts of the air force of the former German Democratic Republic, which itself had been founded in 1956 as part of the National People's Army. There is no organizational continuity between the current German Air Force and the former Luftwaffe of the Wehrmacht founded in 1935, which was completely disbanded in 1945/46 after World War II. The term that is used for both the historic and the current German air force is the German-language generic designation of any air force.

The commander of the German Air Force is Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz. As of 2015, the German Air Force uses eleven air bases, two of which host no flying units. Furthermore, the Air Force has a presence at three civil airports. In 2012, the German Air Force had an authorized strength of 28,475 active airmen and 4,914 reservists.The Military Balance 2012, p.118

History

After World War II, German aviation was severely curtailed, and military aviation was completely forbidden after the Allied Control Commission disbanded the Nazi-era in August 1946. This changed in 1955 when West Germany joined NATO, as the Western Allies believed that Germany was needed to counter the increasing military threat posed by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. Therefore, on 9 January 1956, a new German Air Force called was founded as a branch of the new .

Many well-known fighter pilots of the 's joined the new post-war air force and underwent refresher training in the US before returning to West Germany to upgrade on the latest U.S.-supplied hardware. These included Erich Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn, Günther Rall and Johannes Steinhoff. Steinhoff became commander-in-chief of the , with Rall as his immediate successor. Another pilot of World War II, Josef Kammhuber, also made a significant career in the post-war , retiring in 1962 as Chief Inspector of the Air Force ().

Despite the partial reliance of the new air force on airmen who had served in the 's air arm, there was no organizational continuity between the old and the new . This is in line with the policy of the on the whole, which does not consider itself a successor of the and does not follow the traditions of any other previous German military organization.

First years

The first volunteers of the arrived at the Nörvenich Air Base in January 1956. In the same year, the was provided with its first aircraft, the US-made Republic F-84 Thunderstreak. At first, the was divided into two operational commands, one in Northern Germany, aligned with the British-led Second Allied Tactical Air Force, and the other in Southern Germany, aligned with the American-led Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force.

In 1957, the took command of the Army Air Defence Troops located in Rendsburg and began the expansion of its own air defence missile capabilities. The first squadron to be declared operational was the Air Transport Wing 61 at Erding Air Base, followed by the 31st Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Büchel Air Base. In 1958, the received its first conscripts. In 1959, the declared the 11th Missile Group in Kaufbeuren armed with MGM-1 Matador surface-to-surface tactical nuclear cruise missiles operational. The same year Fighter Wing 71 () equipped with Canadair CL-13 fighters became operational at Ahlhorner Heide Air Base. All aircraft sported—and continue to sport—the Iron Cross on the fuselage, harking back to the pre-March 1918 days of World War I, while the national flag of West Germany is displayed on the tail.

Cold War

In 1963, the saw its first major reorganization. The two operational Air Force Group Commands – Command North and Command South were both split into two mixed Air Force divisions containing flying and air defence units and one Support division. Additionally, a 7th Air Force division was raised in Schleswig-Holstein containing flying units, missile units, support units and the German Navy's naval aviation and placed under command of Allied Forces Baltic Approaches.

In 1960, the received its first Lockheed F-104 Starfighter jets. The Starfighter remained in service for the entire duration of the Cold War, with the last being taken out of service in 1991. The received 916 Starfighters, 292 of which crashed, resulting in the deaths of 116 pilots. The disastrous service record of the Starfighter led to the Starfighter crisis in 1966 as a reaction to 27 Starfighter crashes with 17 casualties in 1965 alone. The West German public referred to the Starfighter as the (widow-maker), (flying coffin), (falling fighter) and ( tent peg, literally "ground nail").

On 25 August 1966, the German Defence Minister Kai-Uwe von Hassel relieved the Chief Inspector of the Air Force ''Generalleutnant'' Werner Panitzki, and transferred Colonel Erich Hartmann, commanding officer of the 71st Fighter Squadron, as both had publicly criticized the acquisition of the Starfighter as a "purely political decision". On 2 September 1966, Johannes Steinhoff, with Günther Rall as deputy, became the new Chief Inspector of the Air Force. Steinhoff and his deputy Günther Rall noted that the non-German F-104s proved much safer. The Americans blamed the high loss rate of the F-104s on the extreme low-level and aggressive flying of German pilots rather than any faults in the aircraft. Steinhoff and Rall went to America to learn to fly the Starfighter under Lockheed instruction and noted some specifics in the training (a lack of mountain and foggy-weather training), combined with handling capabilities (rapidly initiated, high G turns) of the aircraft that could cause accidents. Steinhoff and Rall therefore changed the training regimen for the F-104 pilots, and the accident rates fell to those comparable or better than other air forces. They also brought about the high level of training and professionalism seen today throughout the , and the start of a strategic direction for pilots to engage in tactical and combat training outside of Germany. However, the F-104 never lived down its reputation as a "widow-maker", and was replaced by the with the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter and the Panavia Tornado fighter-bomber in many units much earlier than in other national air forces.

On Steinhoff's initiative, the opened the German Air Force Command USA/Canada () in Fort Bliss, where the trained its missile and air defence troops, and pilots received their basic training. At the same time, the opened a Tactical Training Command in Beja, Portugal, where pilots were trained in Close Air Support missions.

Between 1967 and 1970, the undertook a major reorganization of its forces. The two operational commands were disbanded and the four mixed Air Force divisions were divided into two flying divisions and two air defence divisions. The remainder of the units were divided into functional commands:
* Air Force Operation Command (), with the signal regiments, the radar, and the signals intelligence units
* Air Force Training Command (), with the schools and training regiments
* Air Force Support Command (), with all logistical, maintenance and repair units, and the Material Office of the Air Force
* Air Force Transport Command (), with the air transport squadrons.

Over the next decade, the received large amounts of new equipment, including in 1968 the first C-160 Transall transport planes, in 1974 the F-4 Phantom II fighter-bombers, in 1978 the first Alpha Jet Version A light attack jets and in 1979 the first of 212 Panavia Tornado fighters.

In 1986, the air defense forces began to replace their Nike Hercules missile systems with state of the art surface-to-air missile systems: first to arrive was the MIM-104 Patriot system, followed one year later by Roland short range missile system.

Nuclear sharing

Germany is participating in NATO's nuclear sharing concept. Nuclear sharing is a concept that involves member countries without nuclear weapons of their own in the planning for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO, and in particular provides for the armed forces of these countries to be involved in delivering these weapons in the event of their use.

Soon after its founding, the German Air Force began to train with the US Seventeenth Air Force in handling, arming and delivering nuclear weapons. At first, the F-104 Starfighter was intended to be used solely as a nuclear delivery platform, armed with nuclear air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, as well as nuclear bombs. The Tornado was the second air force plane fielded that was capable of delivering nuclear ammunition, although it was limited to delivering B61 nuclear bombs.

From 1965 through 1970, Missile Wings 1 and 2 fielded 16 Pershing 1 missile systems with nuclear warheads under U.S. Army custody. In 1970, the system was upgraded to Pershing 1a with 72 missiles. Although not directly affected by the 1988 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the unilaterally removed the Pershing 1a missiles from its inventory in 1991, and the missiles were destroyed. At the end of the Cold War, more than 100,000 soldiers served in the .

The United States still lends nuclear weapons for hypothetical use by the under the nuclear sharing agreement. In 2007, 22 B61 nuclear bombs were still kept in Germany, stored at the Büchel Air Base for use with Tornado IDS fighter-bombers of the Tactical Air Force Wing 33. The American nuclear weapons formerly stored at Nörvenich Air Base, Ramstein Air Base and Memmingen Air Base were all withdrawn from Germany during the mid-and-late-1990s.

By international treaties between Germany and the "Big Four" powers in Europe (that formerly occupied Germany), East Germany is a nuclear-free zone. The Big Four powers are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France, and with the latter three having no nuclear weapons in Germany anymore.

Reunification

After German reunification in October 1990, the aircraft and personnel of the former GDR air force, the were taken. The remnants of the East German Air Force were placed under the newly formed 5th Air Force Division () in Strausberg. In 1993, the division was renamed 3rd Air Force Division (), moved to Gatow in Berlin and in 1995 assigned to NATO. By 1990, the East German plane markings had been replaced by the Air Force Iron Cross, the first time Soviet-built aircraft had served in a NATO air force. However, as the ''Luftstreitkräfte der NVA'' were supplied exclusively with Eastern Bloc-produced aircraft, such as the Sukhoi Su-17, MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-29 fighters, most of the equipment was not compatible with the West German NATO equipment and therefore taken out of service and sold or given to new members of NATO in Eastern Europe, such as Poland and the Baltic states.

An exception to this was the Fighter Wing 3 " Vladimir Komarov " () in Preschen Air Base. The Fighter Wing 3 flew brand new MiG-29 fighters. On 1 June 1993, the wing was renamed Fighter Wing 73 () and on 1 October 1994 completed its move to its new home at Laage Air Base. The pilots of JG 73 were some of the most experienced MiG-29 pilots in the world. One of their primary duties was to serve as aggressor pilots, training other pilots in dissimilar combat tactics. The United States sent a group of fighter pilots to Germany during the ''Red October'' exercise to practice tactics against the aircraft they were most likely to meet in real combat. The MiG-29s of JG 73 were fully integrated into the 's air defence structure and the first Soviet Bloc aircraft to be declared operational within NATO. With the introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon imminent, the decision was taken to withdraw the MiG-29. All German MiG-29s, save one, were sold to Poland for the symbolic price of €1 apiece. On 9 August 2004, the last MiG-29s landed in Poland where they continue to serve in the 41st Tactical Squadron of the Polish Air Force.

Operations in the Balkans

The experienced combat action for first time since World War II during September 1995 in the course of Operation Deliberate Force, when six IDS Tornado fighter-bombers, equipped with forward looking infrared devices, and escorted by eight ECR Tornados, supported NATO's artillery missions on positions of the Bosnian Serbs around Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina.

In March 1999, the became involved in direct combat role as part of the Kosovo War along with the other NATO powers. This event was noted as significant in the British press with ''The Sun'' running the headline " and the RAF into battle side by side". The sent in Fighter Bomber Wing 32, equipped with ECR Tornados, which flew missions to suppress enemy air defences in and around Kosovo.

These fighter-bombers were equipped with an electronic countermeasures pod, one AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile for self-defence, and an AGM-88 HARM air-to-ground missile (anti-radar). The bomber wing flew 2108 hours and 446 sorties, firing 236 HARM missiles at hostile targets. No manned planes were lost in combat during this campaign.

2000s

In 2005 and 2008, F-4F ''Phantom II'' fighter planes took part in the Baltic Air Policing operation (of NATO), and these fighters were supplemented in 2009 by units flying the ''Typhoon''.

In 2006, to support military operations in Afghanistan, the sent over several Panavia Tornado reconnaissance planes from the 51st Reconnaissance Wing "Immelmann" (), stationed in Mazar-i-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan.
There have also been assorted German Army helicopters flying from the Air Base in Mazar-i-Sharif. Also, C-160 Transall have flown transport plane missions in and around Afghanistan.

Since the 1970s, the West German (and, post reunification, German) (as well as many other European air forces) has actively pursued the construction of European internationally made warplanes, such as the Panavia Tornado and the Eurofighter Typhoon introduced into the in 2006.

On 13 January 2004, the Minister of Defence, Peter Struck, announced major changes in the future of the German armed forces. A major part of this announcement was a plan to cut the number of fighter planes from 426 in early 2004, to 265 by 2015. Assuming that the plans to order 180 Typhoons is carried out in full, and all of the F-4 Phantoms are removed from service, this would cut the number of Tornado fighter-bombers down to just 85.

In the past, the Bundesmarine's naval air wing () received 112 Tornado IDS planes. However, during late 2004, the last unit of Bundesmarine Tornados was disbanded. The entire maritime combat role was assigned to the , one unit of which has had its Tornado fighters equipped to carry Kormoran II missiles and American HARM missiles.

2010s

As of 2014, a significant proportion of Germany's military aircraft was reported to be unserviceable. It was reported that around half of the Eurofighters and Tornados were not currently airworthy, and that the aging C-160 fleet remained in limited service while awaiting the introduction of the Airbus A400M, the first of which was delivered in December 2014. Ursula von der Leyen admitted that, due to the poor state of the 's equipment, Germany was no longer able to fulfill its NATO commitments.

The German Air Force was one of the founding members of the European Air Transport Command headquartered in Eindhoven - The Netherlands and most of the Transport & Tanker assets have been transferred under EATC management. Replacement of four Airbus A310 MRTT by the Airbus A330 MRTT was approved in 2018 by joining the acquisition of four by the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

Future plans are the replacement of the ageing Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, which were acquired in the 1970s, by Boeing CH-47 Chinook or Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion. Bid for heavy transport helicopter program or STH () is initiated in 2018. However, the award was suspended in 2020 due to high price tag on both helicopter.

The participated in the Israeli Air Force exercise "Blue Flag", the country's largest international air combat exercise, designed to simulate extreme combat scenarios. The German Air Force's six Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets were from Tactical Air Force Squadron 73 Steinhoff from Rostock. It is the first German participation in the Blue Flag exercise.

In 2018, the Air Force issued a request for information from manufacturers about four potential aircraft to replace the aging Panavia Tornados - the Eurofighter Typhoon, F-15 Advanced Eagle, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35 Lightning. In January 2019, it was announced that the F-35 Lightning had been dropped from the shortlist, with the Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet under consideration.

The German Air Force will acquire three C-130J Super Hercules Transport and three KC-130J Tanker Aircraft (delivery planned 2020–2021), which will be jointly operated with the French Air Force's two C-130J and two KC-130J Aircraft (delivery planned 2018–2019).

2020s

In April 2020, the German government announced its intention to gain approval for the purchase of 30 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, 15 EA-18G Growlers and 55 Eurofighter Typhoons as replacements for the Tornado fleet. However, as of the same month such approval was unlikely to occur before 2022. The Super Hornet was selected due to its compatibility with nuclear weapons and availability of an electronic attack version. As of March 2022, the Super Hornet is not certified for the B61 Mod 12 nuclear bombs, but Dan Gillian, head of Boeing's Super Hornet program, previously stated that "We certainly think that we, working with the U.S. government, can meet the German requirements there on the erman'stimeline."

In December 2021, Air Transport Wing 63 in Hohn Air Base and with it the last remaining German C-160 Transalls were disbanded, with the A400M and C-130J serving as the German tactical transport aircraft in the future.

In March 2022, German Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht announced that Germany intends to buy 35 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets instead of Super Hornets to replace the Tornado, the only aircraft Germany possess capable of carrying US nuclear weapons. Germany intends to also order 15 Eurofighter Typhoon electronic warfare aircraft in place of Growlers.

In April 2022, as continuation of STH program, Germany has chosen the CH-47F Chinook to replace its ageing fleet of Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion. According Reuters report, Germany will purchase 60 CH-47Fs with contract worth around ().

In August 2022, Germany sent six Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, three Airbus A330 MRTT tankers and four Airbus A400M Atlas transports to take part in Exercise Pitch Black in Australia, in the air force's largest peacetime deployment.

Structure

The current commander of the German Air Force is Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz. The Inspector of the Air Force () is the commander of Air Force Command (), a body created in 2013 by the merger of the Air Force Office (), German Air Staff (), and Air Force Forces Command (). Similar to the Air Staff of the United States Air Force, the German Air Force Command is a force providing command, not an operational command. The Air Force Command is tasked with ensuring the combat readiness of the German Air Force combat units, which during operations would either be commanded by a NATO command or the Joint Operations Command of the . The Air Force command directly controls three higher commands.

The creation of the Air Force Command was part of a reorganization of the as a whole, announced by Thomas de Maizière in 2011, which also involved the Air Force shrinking to 23,000 soldiers and thus undergoing major restructuring at all levels. In addition to the higher command authorities, the three air divisions, the Air Force Training Command, and Air Force Weapon Systems Command, were disbanded. The three surface-to-air missile units will merge into a single wing in Husum in Northern Germany. The wing fields 14 MIM-104 Patriot and 4 MANTIS systems. The three air transport wings will be merged into a single wing based at Wunstorf Air Base, which will field 40 A400M Atlas transport planes. The will field three Multirole Eurofighter Wings, each with two squadrons for a total of 143 Eurofighter Typhoon. A fighter-bomber wing fielding Panavia Tornado IDS planes remains in service at Büchel Air Base. The Reconnaissance Wing 51 will remain in service at Schleswig Air Base and add one drone squadron to its Panavia Tornado ECR squadron.

The has two main elements subordinate to it:
* Air Operations Command (), responsible for providing command and control to air operations
* Air Force Forces Command ()

Individual Air Force units are either part of the Air Force Operational Forces Command or the Support Forces Command. They only fall under the command of the Air Operations Command when on deployment or attached to EU or NATO organizations.

Air Operations Command

The main subordinate elements of the Air Operations Command are:
* Air Operations Center (NATO CAOC Uedem), in Uedem, responsible for NATO's Integrated Air Defense System North of the Alps
** Air Force Support Group (), in Kalkar
** Control and Reporting Center 2 (), in Erndtebrück
*** Operations Squadron 21, in Erndtebrück
*** Operations Support Squadron 22, in Erndtebrück
**** Sensor Platoon I, in Lauda
***** Remote Radar Post 240 "Loneship", in Erndtebrück with GM 406F
***** Remote Radar Post 246 "Hardwheel", on Erbeskopf with HADR
***** Remote Radar Post 247 "Batman", in Lauda with GM 406F
***** Remote Radar Post 248 "Coldtrack", in Freising with GM 406F
***** Remote Radar Post 249 "Sweet Apple", in Meßstetten with HADR
**** Sensor Platoon II, in Auenhausen
***** Remote Radar Post 241 "Crabtree", in Marienbaum with Hughes HR-3000
***** Remote Radar Post 242 "Backwash", in Auenhausen with GM 406F
***** Remote Radar Post 243 "Silver Cork", in Visselhövede with GM 406F
***** Remote Radar Post 244 "Round up", in Brockzetel with HADR
***** Remote Radar Post 245 "Bugle", in Brekendorf with GM 406F
*** Control and Reporting Training Inspection 23, in Erndtebrück
**** Education and Training Center, in Erndtebrück
**** Education, Test and Training Group, in Erndtebrück
** Control and Reporting Center 3 (), in Schönewalde
*** Operations Squadron 31, in Schönewalde
*** Operations Support Squadron 32, in Schönewalde
**** Sensor Platoon III, in Cölpin
***** Remote Radar Post 351 "Matchpoint", in Putgarten with RRP-117
***** Remote Radar Post 352 "Mindreader", in Cölpin with RRP-117
***** Remote Radar Post 353 "Teddy Bear", in Tempelhof with RRP-117
***** Remote Radar Post 356 "", in Elmenhorst with RRP-117
**** Sensor Platoon IV, in Regen
***** Remote Radar Post 354 "Blackmoor", in Döbern with RRP-117
***** Remote Radar Post 355 "Royal Flash", in Gleina

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