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German Air Force

The German Air Force (German: Luftwaffe, lit.'air weapon or air arm', German pronunciation: [ˈlʊftvafə] (listen)) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr, 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 Luftwaffe that is used for both the historic and the current German air force is the German-language generic designation of any air force.

German Air Force
Luftwaffe
Founded9 January 1956; 67 years ago (1956-01-09)
Country Germany
TypeAir force
RoleAerial warfare
Size
  • 27,500 (2023)[1]
  • 400 aircraft[2]
Part ofFederal Defence Forces
Air Force CommandGatow
Nickname(s)Team Luftwaffe[3]
Motto(s)
  • Immer im Einsatz
  • "Always in action"[3]
Engagements
Websitewww.luftwaffe.de
Commanders
Inspector of the Air ForceGeneralleutnant Ingo Gerhartz
Deputy Inspector of the Air ForceGeneralleutnant Ansgar Rieks
Chief of StaffGeneralmajor Wolfgang Ohl
Notable
commanders
Insignia
Roundel
Fin flash
Pilot's Flying Badge
Aircraft flown
AttackTornado IDS
Electronic
warfare
Tornado ECR
FighterEurofighter Typhoon, Tornado IDS
HelicopterCH-53, H145M, AS532
TrainerGrob G-120, T-6 Texan II, T-38 Talon
TransportA400M, Global Express 5000, A319, A340, A350, A321
TankerA400M

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.[4]

History

 
This Canadair CL-13 is preserved at the Military History Museum in Berlin.

After World War II, German aviation was severely curtailed, and military aviation was completely forbidden after the Allied Control Commission disbanded the Nazi-era Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe was founded as a branch of the new Bundeswehr.

Many well-known fighter pilots of the Wehrmacht's Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe, with Rall as his immediate successor. Another pilot of World War II, Josef Kammhuber, also made a significant career in the post-war Luftwaffe, retiring in 1962 as Chief Inspector of the Air Force (Inspekteur der Luftwaffe).

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

First years

The first volunteers of the Luftwaffe arrived at the Nörvenich Air Base in January 1956. In the same year, the Luftwaffe was provided with its first aircraft, the US-made Republic F-84 Thunderstreak. At first, the Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe took command of the Army Air Defence Troops located in Rendsburg and began the expansion of its own air defense 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 Luftwaffe received its first conscripts. In 1959, the Luftwaffe 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 (Jagdgeschwader 71) equipped with Canadair CL-13[5] 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 Luftwaffe 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 defense 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 Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe 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 Witwenmacher (widow-maker), fliegender Sarg (flying coffin), Fallfighter (falling fighter) and Erdnagel (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 Luftwaffe F-104s on the extremely low-level and aggressive flying of German pilots rather than any faults in the aircraft.[6] 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 Luftwaffe, and the start of a strategic direction for Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe 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.

 
An Alpha Jet A in 1996
 
One of 212 Panavia Tornado IDSs delivered to the Luftwaffe

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

Between 1967 and 1970, the Luftwaffe 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 defense divisions. The remainder of the units were divided into functional commands:

  • Air Force Operation Command (Luftwaffenführungsdienstkommando), with the signal regiments, the radar, and the signals intelligence units
  • Air Force Training Command (Luftwaffenausbildungskommando), with the schools and training regiments
  • Air Force Support Command (Luftwaffenunterstützungskommando), with all logistical, maintenance, and repair units, and the Material Office of the Air Force
  • Air Force Transport Command (Lufttransportkommando), with the air transport squadrons.

Over the next decade, the Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe.

The United States still lends nuclear weapons for hypothetical use by the Luftwaffe 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 was a nuclear-free zone. The Big Four powers are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France, and the latter three have no nuclear weapons in Germany anymore.

Reunification

 
 
 
A Luftwaffe MiG-29

After German reunification in October 1990, the aircraft and personnel of the former GDR air force, the Luftstreitkräfte der NVA were taken. The remnants of the East German Air Force were placed under the newly formed 5th Air Force Division (5. Luftwaffendivision) in Strausberg. In 1993, the division was renamed 3rd Air Force Division (3. Luftwaffendivision), 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 " (Jagdfliegergeschwader 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 (Jagdgeschwader 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 Luftwaffe's air defence structure and the first Soviet Bloc aircraft to be declared operational within NATO.[7] 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

 
A Luftwaffe Tornado ECR carrying an AGM-88-HARM missile during the air campaign over Kosovo in 1999

The Luftwaffe experienced combat action for the first time since World War II during September 1995[8] 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.[9][10]

In March 1999, the Luftwaffe became involved in a 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 "Luftwaffe and the RAF into battle side by side".[11] The Luftwaffe sent in Fighter Bomber Wing 32, equipped with ECR Tornados, which flew missions to suppress enemy air defenses 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 Luftwaffe planes were lost in combat during this campaign.[12]

2000s

In 2005 and 2008, Luftwaffe 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.[13][14]

In 2006, to support military operations in Afghanistan, the Luftwaffe sent over several Panavia Tornado reconnaissance planes from the 51st Reconnaissance Wing "Immelmann" (Aufklärungsgeschwader 51 "Immelmann"), stationed in Mazar-i-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan.[15] There have also been assorted German Army helicopters flying from the Luftwaffe Air Base in Mazar-i-Sharif. Also, Luftwaffe C-160 Transall have flown transport plane missions in and around Afghanistan.

 
A Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon (single-seater version)

Since the 1970s, the West German (and, post-reunification, German) Luftwaffe (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 Luftwaffe 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.[16]

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

2010s

 
A Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon 30+68 with the painting "60 years of Luftwaffe", 2016

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.[17] Ursula von der Leyen admitted that, due to the poor state of the Bundeswehr's equipment, Germany was no longer able to fulfill its NATO commitments.[18]

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. The 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 aging Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, which was acquired in the 1970s, by Boeing CH-47 Chinook or Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion. A bid for a heavy transport helicopter program or STH (Schwerer Transporthubschrauber) was initiated in 2018. However, the award was suspended in 2020 due to the high price tag on both helicopters.[19]

The Luftwaffe 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.[20]

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.[21] 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),[22] which will be jointly operated with the French Air Force's two C-130J and two KC-130J Aircraft (delivery planned 2018–2019).[23]

2020s

 
The first new Luftwaffe Airbus A350-900 in Los Angeles.

In April 2020, the German government announced its intention to gain approval for the purchase of 30 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, 15 EA-18G Growlers, and 55 Eurofighter Typhoons as replacements for the Tornado fleet.[24] However, as of the same month such approval was unlikely to occur before 2022.[25] The Super Hornet was selected due to its compatibility with nuclear weapons and availability of an electronic attack version.[26] As of March 2022, the Super Hornet has not been 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 [German's] timeline."[27]

In December 2021, Air Transport Wing 63 in Hohn Air Base and with it, the last remaining German C-160 Transalls were disbanded,[28] 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.[29] Germany intends to also order 15 Eurofighter Typhoon electronic warfare aircraft in place of Growlers.[30]

In April 2022, as a continuation of the STH program, Germany has chosen the CH-47F Chinook to replace its aging fleet of Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion.[19] According to Reuters report, Germany will purchase 60 CH-47Fs with a contract worth around 5 billion (US$5.40 billion).[31]

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.[32]

Structure

 
A German Air Force MIM-104 Patriot system

The current commander of the German Air Force is Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz. The Inspector of the Air Force (Inspekteur der Luftwaffe) is the commander of Air Force Command (Kommando Luftwaffe), a body created in 2013 by the merger of the Air Force Office (Luftwaffenamt), German Air Staff (Führungsstab der Luftwaffe), and Air Force Forces Command (Luftwaffenführungskommando). 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 Bundeswehr. The Air Force command directly controls three higher commands.[33]

The creation of the Air Force Command was part of a reorganization of the Bundeswehr 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 Luftwaffe will field three Multirole Eurofighter Wings, each with two squadrons for a total of 143 Eurofighter Typhoon.[34] 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.[35]

The Kommando Luftwaffe has two main elements subordinate to it:

  • Air Operations Command (Zentrum Luftoperationen der Luftwaffe), responsible for providing command and control to air operations
  • Air Force Forces Command (Luftwaffentruppenkommando)

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

class=notpageimage|
German Air Force radar stations, and control and reporting centers:
  HR-3000 (HADR) radar station
  GM 406F radar station
  RRP-117 radar station
  Control and Reporting Center

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 (Luftwaffenunterstützungsgruppe), in Kalkar
    • Control and Reporting Center 2 (Einsatzführungsbereich 2), in Erndtebrück[36]
      • 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
      • 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 (Einsatzführungsbereich 3), in Schönewalde[37]
      • 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 with RRP-117
          • Remote Radar Post 357 "", on Döbraberg with RRP-117
          • Remote Radar Post 358 "Snow Cap", on Großer Arber with RRP-117
      • Deployable Control and Reporting Centre, in Schönewalde
    • Air Force Command Support Center (Führungsunterstützungszentrum der Luftwaffe), in Köln-Wahn
    • German Representation at NATO's Allied Air Command, at Ramstein Air Base
    • German Representation at Joint Air Power Competence Centre, in Kalkar
    • German Representation at European Air Transport Command, in Eindhoven Air Base
    • German Representation at NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force Command, at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen
    • German Representation at Alliance Ground Surveillance, in Sigonella Air Base

Air Force Forces Command

The main subordinate elements of the Air Force Operational Forces Command are:

Directly subordinated institutions:

Subordinated flying units:

Subordinated ground based units:

Subordinated support units:

North American training centers

In light of the destroyed infrastructure of West Germany post–World War II, the restrictions on aircraft production placed on Germany and the later restrictive flying zones available for training pilots, the reconstructed Luftwaffe trained most of its pilots tactically away from Germany, mainly in the United States and Canada where most of its aircraft were sourced.

During the 1960s and 1970s, a very large number of Luftwaffe jet crashes—the Luftwaffe suffered a 36 percent crash rate for F-84F Thunderstreaks and an almost 30 percent loss of F-104 Starfighters—created considerable public demand for moving Luftwaffe combat training centers away from Germany.

As a result, the Luftwaffe set up two tactical training centers: one, like those of many of the NATO forces, at the Royal Canadian Air Force base at Goose Bay; and the second in a unique partnership with the United States Air Force at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico (F-104 pilots had already been trained at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, since 1964). Both facilities provide access to large unpopulated areas, where tactical and combat training can take place without danger to large populations.

 
F-4Es of the 1st GAFTS

On 1 May 1996, the Luftwaffe established the German Air Force Tactical Training Center (TTC) in concert with the United States Air Force 20th Fighter Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, which provides aircrew training in the F-4F Phantom II. The TTC serves as the parent command for two German aircrew training squadrons. The F-4 Training Squadron oversees all German F-4 student personnel affairs and provides German instructor pilots to cooperate in the contracted F-4 training program provided by the U.S. Air Force (20th Fighter Squadron). A second TTC unit, the Tornado Training Squadron, provides academic and tactical flying training, by German air force instructors, for German Tornado aircrews.

The first contingent of Tornado aircraft arrived at Holloman in March 1996. More than 300 German air force personnel are permanently assigned at Holloman to the TTC, the only unit of its kind in the United States. The German Air Force Flying Training Center was activated on 31 March 1996, with German Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Portz and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan present. The Luftwaffe has since stationed up to 800 personnel at Holloman for training exercises, due to limited training space in Europe.

In September 2004, the Luftwaffe announced a reduction in its training program by about 20%. By the end of 2006, 650 Luftwaffe personnel and 25 Tornado aircraft were assigned to Holloman.

Air bases

In 2020, the Air Force uses 12 air bases, four of which host no flying units. In the future, Lechfeld Air Base will become home to a second A400M wing of the German Air Force. This was planned to be a German-led multinational wing for NATO partners but was canceled in March 2022 due to little interest and cost.[40] Furthermore, the Air Force has a presence at three civilian airports incl. the Airport Berlin Tegel which has been closed in November 2020:

Name[41][42] Major Tenants ICAO-Code[41][42] IATA-Code[43] Runways Code[41][42] Year Nearest City[41] State
Direction[41][42] Cover[41][42] Size[41][42]
Berlin Tegel Airport Executive Transport Wing; only helicopters because the runways are decommissioned[44] EDDT TXL 08L/26R Asphalt 3022x45 1948 Berlin Berlin
08R/26L Asphalt 2427x45
Büchel Air Base Tactical Wing 33 ETSB 03/21 Asphalt 2507x45 1955 Büchel Rhineland-Palatinate
Cologne Bonn Airport Executive Transport Wing EDDK CGN 14L/32R Asphalt 3815x60 1938 Cologne North Rhine-Westphalia
06/24 Concrete 2459x45
14R/32L Asphalt 1863x45
Diepholz Air Base ETND 08/26 Asphalt 1283x45 1936 Diepholz Lower Saxony
Hohn Air Base Reserve airfield for Tactical Wing 51, formerly Air Transport Wing 63 ETNH 08/26 Concrete 2440x30 Hohn Schleswig-Holstein
Holzdorf Air Base Helicopter Wing 64 ETSH 09/27 Asphalt 2419x30 1974 Holzdorf Saxony-Anhalt
Landsberg-Lech Air Base Reserve airfield for Tactical Wing 74 ETSA 07/25 Concrete 2066x30 1935 Landsberg Bavaria
Laupheim Air Base Helicopter Wing 64 ETHL 09/27 Asphalt 1646x30 1940 Laupheim Baden-Württemberg
Lechfeld Air Base Second A400M wing to be formed.[45] ETSL 03/21 Concrete 2678x30 1912 Klosterlechfeld Bavaria
Neuburg Air Base Tactical Wing 74 ETSN 09/27 Asphalt 2440x30 1960 Neuburg Bavaria
Nörvenich Air Base Tactical Wing 31 ETNN QOE 07/25 Asphalt 2439x45 1954 Nörvenich North Rhine-Westphalia
Rostock-Laage Airport Tactical Wing 73 ETNL RLG 10/28 Concrete 2500x45 1984 Laage Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Schleswig Air Base Tactical Wing 51 ETNS WBG 05/23 Asphalt 2439x30 Schleswig Schleswig-Holstein
Wittmundhafen Air Base Tactical Wing 71 ETNT 08/26 Asphalt 2440x30 1951 Wittmund Lower Saxony
Wunstorf Air Base Air Transport Wing 62 ETNW 08/26 Asphalt 1877x46,5 1936 Wunstorf Lower Saxony
03/21 Asphalt 1699x47,5
08/26 Grass 1088x40

Personnel

In 2012, the Air Force had an authorized strength of 44,565 active airmen/women and 4,914 reservists.[4] The civil personnel within the Air Force is being reduced to 5,950 officials and employees. Most of the civilian employees work in maintenance and the Air Force Fire Department. On 20 September 2011 defense minister Thomas de Maizière announced that the Air Force would shrink to 23,000 airmen/women. [46]

Training

The Luftwaffe has set up a total of 5 training institutions, namely the Offizierschule der Luftwaffe, Unteroffizierschule der Luftwaffe, Luftwaffenausbildungsbataillon, Fachschule der Luftwaffe and Technische Ausbildungszentrum der Luftwaffe, for training catering both personnel in active service and civilians willing to enter the Luftwaffe.[47]

Symbols, emblems and uniform

Roundel and serial number

 
A preserved Fokker D.VII with the original-style Balkenkreuz of 1918
 
German Air Force dress uniform

Originally German Air Force aircraft carried an Iron Cross—appearing to be closely modeled on that used by the 1916-17 era Imperial German Luftstreitkräfte through the spring of 1918, but no longer have the white border around the crosses' "ends" (thusly resembling the orthogonal white "flanks" of the earlier, 1918-1945 era Balkenkreuz national marking)—as an identifying feature on all four wing positions and on both sides on the rear of the fuselage and a small tricolor German flag painted on the vertical stabilizer. Each aircraft also carried a serial number consisting of two letters, which identified the service and combat wing, followed by three numbers identifying the squadron and the number of the plane within the squadron, almost graphically resembling the USAF's own buzz numbers of the same period.

This system was changed in 1968. The large Iron Cross and serial numbers have since been replaced on all aircraft by a four-number registration code, appearing somewhat in the manner of the earlier alphanumeric Geschwaderkennung combat wing code characters used by their World War II predecessor—separated by an Iron Cross in the middle: the first two numbers identify the type of aircraft and the second two numbers are sequential for each type. When writing the registration number the Iron Cross is written as a "+". I.e. the Tornado IDS of the Air Force are numbered from 43+01 to 46+22, while the Tornado ECR of the Air Force is numbered from 46+23 to 46+57. The numbers from 30+01 to 33+99 are being used for the Eurofighter.

Uniform

The ranks of the Air Force are identical to the ranks of the German Army. The Air Force field dress is the same as the army field dress. The dress uniform of the Air Force is dark blue with gold-yellow wings as collar patches. As headdress a dark blue side cap or dark blue peaked cap can be worn. Members of the German Air Force Regiment wear a dark blue beret.

Aircraft

Current inventory

 
A Eurofighter Typhoon during exercise Frisian Flag
 
A CH-53G in flight over ILA Berlin, 2016
 
A Luftwaffe A400M on its maiden flight
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes
Combat Aircraft
Eurofighter Typhoon Europe multirole 141[48] 38 on order (tranche 4)[49]
Panavia Tornado Europe multirole IDS 75[50]
Lockheed Martin F-35 United States multirole F-35A 0[51] 35 on order[51]
Electronic Warfare
Panavia Tornado Europe SEAD ECR 30[50]
Tanker
Lockheed Martin C-130J United States aerial refueling KC-130J-30 0[52] 3 on order[52]
Transport
Airbus A319 Europe VIP transport / Open Skies A319CJ 2[53] / 1[54]
Airbus A321 Europe VIP transport A321-200 1[53]
Airbus A321neo Europe transport (MEDEVAC) A321LR 2[55]
Airbus A340 Europe VIP transport A340-300 2[53] Will be replaced by ACJ350 in 2023[56]
Airbus A350 Europe VIP transport ACJ350 3[56][57]
Airbus A400M Europe tactical airlifter / aerial refueling 38[58] 15 on order[58]
Bombardier Global 5000 Canada VIP transport 3[53]
Bombardier Global 6000 Canada VIP transport 3[53] 3 SIGINT on order[59][60]
Lockheed Martin C-130J United States tactical airlifter C-130J-30 3[61]
Helicopter
Airbus Helicopters H145 Europe light utility H145M 15[50] flown for Special Forces Command
Eurocopter AS532 Europe VIP transport AS532 U2 3[53]
Sikorsky CH-53 United States transport CH-53G 66[62]
Trainer aircraft
Grob G 120 Germany basic trainer G 120A / TP 6[63] / 5[63]
Northrop T-38 United States jet trainer T-38C [64]
UAVs
IAI Eitan Israel surveillance and combat Heron TP 0[65] 5 on order[65]
IAI Heron Israel surveillance Heron 1 6[65] to be replaced by Heron TP[65]

NOTE: Germany is participating in the MRTT program for their aerial refueling needs, along with contracting NHV to provide H145 rotorcraft training[66][67]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Aktuelle Personalzahlen der Bundeswehr [Current personnel numbers of the Federal Defence]". Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  2. ^ "World Air Forces 2016". Flightglobal: 19. from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b Heiner Möllers (2012). Tradition und Traditionsverständnis in der Deutschen Luftwaffe: Geschichte - Gegenwart - Perspektiven. BoD – Books on Demand. pp. 57–. ISBN 978-3-941571-17-4.
  4. ^ a b The Military Balance 2012, p.118
  5. ^ "Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen"". geschichte.luftwaffe.de (in German). from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  6. ^ "German F-104 losses (Ed Rasimus; LT Scott A. Norton, USN; Mike Schmitt; anon)". from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  7. ^ MiG-29s leave Luftwaffe 2010-06-24 at the Wayback Machine – Flug Revue, April 2004
  8. ^ "The Victoria Advocate - Google News Archive Search". from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  9. ^ Owen, Robert (2000). Deliberate Force: a case study in effective air campaigning. DIANE Publishing, p. 246. ISBN 1-58566-076-0
  10. ^ Trevor, Findlay (1996). Challenges for the new peacekeepers. Oxford University Press, p. 41. ISBN 0-19-829199-X
  11. ^ "Historic day for Germany". BBC News. 25 March 1999. from the original on 18 December 2002. Retrieved 1 November 2006.
  12. ^ "The History of Fighter Bomber Wing 32". from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  13. ^ "Germans takes over Baltic NATO mission". The Baltic Times. Baltic News Ltd. 29 June 2005. from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2006.
  14. ^ "Germany hails Eurofighter's Baltic debut as 'mission accomplished'". Flight International. Dan Thisdell. 12 November 2009. from the original on 16 November 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  15. ^ "Recce-Tornados in Afghanistan" (in German). Luftwaffe.de. 17 February 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Germany Announces Major Armed Forces Cuts". Air Forces Monthly. Key Publishing. March 2004. p. 8.
  17. ^ Jordans, Frank (26 September 2014). . www.stripes.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 28 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  18. ^ "Germany's von der Leyen admits major Bundeswehr shortfalls". www.dw.de. Deutsche Welle. 27 September 2014. from the original on 28 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  19. ^ a b Díaz, Pablo (22 April 2022). "Long live the Chinook: Germany chooses CH-47F to replace its CH-53Gs". Aviacionline. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  20. ^ "German Eurofighter Typhoons demonstrate interoperability and aerial diplomacy over the Negev desert". Airbus. from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  21. ^ Allison, George (25 April 2018). "Eurofighter outline why they believe Typhoon is 'the Perfect Choice for Germany'". UK Defence Journal. from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  22. ^ "Germany – C-130J and KC-130J Aircraft - The Official Home of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency". www.dsca.mil. from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  23. ^ "France –C-130J Aircraft - The Official Home of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency". www.dsca.mil. from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  24. ^ Perry, Dominic (21 April 2020). "Germany picks Super Hornet and more Eurofighters for Tornado replacement". Flight Global.
  25. ^ Zeitvogel, Karin (23 April 2020). "Germany won't be buying US planes to replace aging Tornados before 2022, official says". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  26. ^ Trevithick, Joseph (26 March 2020). "Nukes Drive Germany's Plan To Replace Tornados With Typhoons, Super Hornets, and Growlers". The War Zone. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  27. ^ Trevithick, Joseph (3 April 2019). "Here's Where Boeing Aims To Take The Super Hornet In The Decades To Come". The War Zone. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  28. ^ "Goodbye C-160 Transall". European Air Transport Command. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Germany to buy 35 Lockheed F-35 fighter jets from U.S. amid Ukraine crisis". Reuters. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  30. ^ Tirpak, John A. (15 March 2022). "Germany to Buy F-35 and Typhoon Fighters as It Boosts Defense Spending". Air Force Magazine. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Germany to buy 60 heavy transport helicopters from Boeing, Bild am Sonntag reports". Reuters. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  32. ^ "Germany plays down Asian involvement as air force sends 13 planes to Australia for Pitch Black exercises". ABC News. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  33. ^ Orbats - Scramble 2013-06-24 at the Wayback Machine. Scramblemagazine.nl. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  34. ^ "Eurofighter Typhoon Marks Delivery of 400th Aircraft" 2013-12-12 at the Wayback Machine December 04, 2013
  35. ^ Die Neuausrichtung der Bundeswehr (PDF). Germany: German Ministry of Defence. June 2012. pp. 47–55.[permanent dead link]
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  37. ^ "Einsatzführungsbereich 3". German Air Force. from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  38. ^ Luftwaffe (26 July 2016). "Mission accomplished – well done!" (in German). Homepage der Luftwaffe. from the original on 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  39. ^ Melanie Hanz (5 March 2015). "Weniger in Upjever – mehr in Wittmund". NWZ Online (in German). from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  40. ^ "Fliegerhorst Lechfeld: Der A400M soll doch nicht kommen". 13 March 2022.
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  42. ^ a b c d e f DoD Information Publication (Enroute) Supplement Europe, North Africa and Middle East
  43. ^ "Great Circle Search". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  44. ^ "Ministerin: Tegel schließt, die Bundeswehr bleibt (jedenfalls die Hubschrauber)". Augen geradeaus (in German). Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  45. ^ "Lechfeld: A400M-Stationierung auch ohne Interesse aus der Nato". 18 February 2022.
  46. ^ "The Military Balance 2013". 2018-10-01 at the Wayback Machine, March 14, 2013.
  47. ^ "Ausbildungseinrichtungen". Luftwaffe (in German). from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  48. ^ "Orders, Deliveries, In Operation Military aircraft by Country - Worldwide" (PDF). Airbus. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  49. ^ "Airbus signs contract for 38 Eurofighters with Germany". Airbus. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  50. ^ a b c "WORLD AIR FORCES 2022". Flight Global. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  51. ^ a b "Sondervermögen: Bundeswehr kann 35 F-35A für rund 8,3 Milliarden Euro kaufen". Bundesministerium der Verteidigung. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  52. ^ a b "Two German Air Force first flights". scramble.nl. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  53. ^ a b c d e f "Die Flugbereitschaft des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung". Bundeswehr (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  54. ^ "Open Skies". BMVg (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  55. ^ "Das BAAINBw übernimmt zweiten Airbus A321LR für die Bundeswehr". Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr (in German). 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  56. ^ a b Pallini, Thomas (23 August 2020). "Germany just took delivery of its new VIP plane that will fly the country's top government officials – take a look". Business Insider. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  57. ^ "Germany Takes Delivery Of Its 1st Fully Equipped Government Airbus A350". simpleflying.com. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  58. ^ a b "15. Bericht des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung zu Rüstungsangelegenheiten Teil 1" (PDF). BMVg. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  59. ^ "Germany to regain SIGINT capability with new Pegasus fleet". Flight Global. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  60. ^ "German Air Force SIGINT capacity". www.scramble.nl. 27 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  61. ^ "Germany's third C-130J delivered". scramble.nl. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  62. ^ "Rheinmetall now providing support and maintenance for German Air Force CH-53G transport helicopters at all bases" (Press release). Rheinmetall. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  63. ^ a b "FLEET CUSTOMERS". Grob Aircraft. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  64. ^ "Die Northrop T-38C Talon". Bundeswehr. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  65. ^ a b c d "Neue Planungen zu bewaffneten und bewaffnungsfähigen Drohnen" (PDF). Deutscher Bundestag (in German). 6 March 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  66. ^ "NHV awarded H145 service contract by German Air Force". NHV. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  67. ^ "Sieben Tankflugzeuge Airbus A330 MRTT für die NATO". Bundeswehr Journal. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

Further reading

Hundreds of books, magazines and articles have been written about the Luftwaffe. A select few are listed here.

  • Amadio, Jill (2002), Günther Rall: A Memoir, Seven Locks Press. ISBN 0-9715533-0-0.
  • Philpott, Bryan (1986), History of the German Air Force, Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-50293-7.

External links

  • Official website (in German)
  • Luftwaffe museum (in German and English)
  • Fleet of Luftwaffe

german, force, this, article, about, german, west, german, force, after, world, world, force, germany, luftwaffe, world, army, affiliated, force, germany, luftstreitkräfte, force, east, germany, forces, national, people, army, other, uses, disambiguation, germ. This article is about the German and West German air force after World War II For the World War II air force of Germany see Luftwaffe For the World War I Army affiliated air force of Germany see Luftstreitkrafte For the air force of East Germany see Air Forces of the National People s Army For other uses see German Air Force disambiguation The German Air Force German Luftwaffe lit air weapon or air arm German pronunciation ˈlʊftvafe listen is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr the armed forces of Germany The German Air Force as part of the Bundeswehr code deu promoted to code de 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 Luftwaffe that is used for both the historic and the current German air force is the German language generic designation of any air force German Air ForceLuftwaffeFounded9 January 1956 67 years ago 1956 01 09 Country GermanyTypeAir forceRoleAerial warfareSize27 500 2023 1 400 aircraft 2 Part ofFederal Defence ForcesAir Force CommandGatowNickname s Team Luftwaffe 3 Motto s Immer im Einsatz Always in action 3 EngagementsOperation Deliberate Force Kosovo War War in Afghanistan Military intervention against ISIL Northern Mali conflictWebsitewww wbr luftwaffe wbr deCommandersInspector of the Air ForceGeneralleutnant Ingo GerhartzDeputy Inspector of the Air ForceGeneralleutnant Ansgar RieksChief of StaffGeneralmajor Wolfgang OhlNotablecommandersGeneral Josef KammhuberGeneral Johannes SteinhoffGeneralleutnant Gunther RallInsigniaRoundelFin flashPilot s Flying BadgeAircraft flownAttackTornado IDSElectronicwarfareTornado ECRFighterEurofighter Typhoon Tornado IDSHelicopterCH 53 H145M AS532TrainerGrob G 120 T 6 Texan II T 38 TalonTransportA400M Global Express 5000 A319 A340 A350 A321TankerA400M 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 4 Contents 1 History 1 1 First years 1 2 Cold War 1 2 1 Nuclear sharing 1 3 Reunification 1 4 Operations in the Balkans 1 5 2000s 1 6 2010s 1 7 2020s 2 Structure 2 1 Air Operations Command 2 2 Air Force Forces Command 2 3 North American training centers 3 Air bases 4 Personnel 4 1 Training 5 Symbols emblems and uniform 5 1 Roundel and serial number 5 2 Uniform 6 Aircraft 6 1 Current inventory 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksHistory Edit This Canadair CL 13 is preserved at the Military History Museum in Berlin After World War II German aviation was severely curtailed and military aviation was completely forbidden after the Allied Control Commission disbanded the Nazi era Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe was founded as a branch of the new Bundeswehr Many well known fighter pilots of the Wehrmacht s Luftwaffe 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 Gunther Rall and Johannes Steinhoff Steinhoff became commander in chief of the Luftwaffe with Rall as his immediate successor Another pilot of World War II Josef Kammhuber also made a significant career in the post war Luftwaffe retiring in 1962 as Chief Inspector of the Air Force Inspekteur der Luftwaffe Despite the partial reliance of the new air force on airmen who had served in the Wehrmacht s air arm there was no organizational continuity between the old and the new Luftwaffe This is in line with the policy of the Bundeswehr on the whole which does not consider itself a successor of the Wehrmacht and does not follow the traditions of any other previous German military organization First years Edit The first volunteers of the Luftwaffe arrived at the Norvenich Air Base in January 1956 In the same year the Luftwaffe was provided with its first aircraft the US made Republic F 84 Thunderstreak At first the Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe took command of the Army Air Defence Troops located in Rendsburg and began the expansion of its own air defense 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 Buchel Air Base In 1958 the Luftwaffe received its first conscripts In 1959 the Luftwaffe 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 Jagdgeschwader 71 equipped with Canadair CL 13 5 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 Edit Main article Cold WarSee also 1961 F 84 Thunderstreak incident In 1963 the Luftwaffe 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 defense 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 Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe 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 Witwenmacher widow maker fliegender Sarg flying coffin Fallfighter falling fighter and Erdnagel 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 Gunther Rall as deputy became the new Chief Inspector of the Air Force Steinhoff and his deputy Gunther Rall noted that the non German F 104s proved much safer The Americans blamed the high loss rate of the Luftwaffe F 104s on the extremely low level and aggressive flying of German pilots rather than any faults in the aircraft 6 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 Luftwaffe and the start of a strategic direction for Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe 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 An Alpha Jet A in 1996 One of 212 Panavia Tornado IDSs delivered to the Luftwaffe On Steinhoff s initiative the Luftwaffe opened the German Air Force Command USA Canada Deutsches Luftwaffenkommando USA Kanada in Fort Bliss where the Luftwaffe trained its missile and air defense troops and pilots received their basic training At the same time the Luftwaffe opened a Tactical Training Command in Beja Portugal where pilots were trained in Close Air Support missions Between 1967 and 1970 the Luftwaffe 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 defense divisions The remainder of the units were divided into functional commands Air Force Operation Command Luftwaffenfuhrungsdienstkommando with the signal regiments the radar and the signals intelligence units Air Force Training Command Luftwaffenausbildungskommando with the schools and training regiments Air Force Support Command Luftwaffenunterstutzungskommando with all logistical maintenance and repair units and the Material Office of the Air Force Air Force Transport Command Lufttransportkommando with the air transport squadrons Over the next decade the Luftwaffe 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 Edit 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 Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe The United States still lends nuclear weapons for hypothetical use by the Luftwaffe under the nuclear sharing agreement In 2007 22 B61 nuclear bombs were still kept in Germany stored at the Buchel Air Base for use with Tornado IDS fighter bombers of the Tactical Air Force Wing 33 The American nuclear weapons formerly stored at Norvenich 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 was a nuclear free zone The Big Four powers are the United States Russia the United Kingdom and France and the latter three have no nuclear weapons in Germany anymore Reunification Edit Main article Reunification of Germany A Luftwaffe MiG 29 After German reunification in October 1990 the aircraft and personnel of the former GDR air force the Luftstreitkrafte der NVA were taken The remnants of the East German Air Force were placed under the newly formed 5th Air Force Division 5 Luftwaffendivision in Strausberg In 1993 the division was renamed 3rd Air Force Division 3 Luftwaffendivision 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 Luftstreitkrafte 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 Jagdfliegergeschwader 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 Jagdgeschwader 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 Luftwaffe s air defence structure and the first Soviet Bloc aircraft to be declared operational within NATO 7 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 Edit A Luftwaffe Tornado ECR carrying an AGM 88 HARM missile during the air campaign over Kosovo in 1999 The Luftwaffe experienced combat action for the first time since World War II during September 1995 8 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 amp Herzegovina 9 10 In March 1999 the Luftwaffe became involved in a 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 Luftwaffe and the RAF into battle side by side 11 The Luftwaffe sent in Fighter Bomber Wing 32 equipped with ECR Tornados which flew missions to suppress enemy air defenses 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 Luftwaffe planes were lost in combat during this campaign 12 2000s Edit In 2005 and 2008 Luftwaffe 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 13 14 In 2006 to support military operations in Afghanistan the Luftwaffe sent over several Panavia Tornado reconnaissance planes from the 51st Reconnaissance Wing Immelmann Aufklarungsgeschwader 51 Immelmann stationed in Mazar i Sharif Northern Afghanistan 15 There have also been assorted German Army helicopters flying from the Luftwaffe Air Base in Mazar i Sharif Also Luftwaffe C 160 Transall have flown transport plane missions in and around Afghanistan A Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon single seater version Since the 1970s the West German and post reunification German Luftwaffe 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 Luftwaffe 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 16 In the past the Bundesmarine s naval air wing Marineflieger received 112 Tornado IDS planes However in late 2004 the last unit of Bundesmarine Tornados was disbanded The entire maritime combat role was assigned to the Luftwaffe one unit of which has had its Tornado fighters equipped to carry Kormoran II missiles and American HARM missiles 2010s Edit This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it July 2015 A Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon 30 68 with the painting 60 years of Luftwaffe 2016 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 17 Ursula von der Leyen admitted that due to the poor state of the Bundeswehr s equipment Germany was no longer able to fulfill its NATO commitments 18 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 amp Tanker assets have been transferred under EATC management The 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 aging Sikorsky CH 53 Sea Stallion which was acquired in the 1970s by Boeing CH 47 Chinook or Sikorsky CH 53K King Stallion A bid for a heavy transport helicopter program or STH Schwerer Transporthubschrauber was initiated in 2018 However the award was suspended in 2020 due to the high price tag on both helicopters 19 The Luftwaffe 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 20 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 21 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 22 which will be jointly operated with the French Air Force s two C 130J and two KC 130J Aircraft delivery planned 2018 2019 23 2020s Edit The first new Luftwaffe Airbus A350 900 in Los Angeles In April 2020 the German government announced its intention to gain approval for the purchase of 30 Boeing F A 18E F Super Hornets 15 EA 18G Growlers and 55 Eurofighter Typhoons as replacements for the Tornado fleet 24 However as of the same month such approval was unlikely to occur before 2022 25 The Super Hornet was selected due to its compatibility with nuclear weapons and availability of an electronic attack version 26 As of March 2022 the Super Hornet has not been 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 German s timeline 27 In December 2021 Air Transport Wing 63 in Hohn Air Base and with it the last remaining German C 160 Transalls were disbanded 28 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 29 Germany intends to also order 15 Eurofighter Typhoon electronic warfare aircraft in place of Growlers 30 In April 2022 as a continuation of the STH program Germany has chosen the CH 47F Chinook to replace its aging fleet of Sikorsky CH 53 Sea Stallion 19 According to Reuters report Germany will purchase 60 CH 47Fs with a contract worth around 5 billion US 5 40 billion 31 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 32 Structure Edit A German Air Force MIM 104 Patriot system Buchel Air Base The current commander of the German Air Force is Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz The Inspector of the Air Force Inspekteur der Luftwaffe is the commander of Air Force Command Kommando Luftwaffe a body created in 2013 by the merger of the Air Force Office Luftwaffenamt German Air Staff Fuhrungsstab der Luftwaffe and Air Force Forces Command Luftwaffenfuhrungskommando 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 Bundeswehr The Air Force command directly controls three higher commands 33 The creation of the Air Force Command was part of a reorganization of the Bundeswehr as a whole announced by Thomas de Maiziere 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 Luftwaffe will field three Multirole Eurofighter Wings each with two squadrons for a total of 143 Eurofighter Typhoon 34 A fighter bomber wing fielding Panavia Tornado IDS planes remains in service at Buchel 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 35 The Kommando Luftwaffe has two main elements subordinate to it Air Operations Command Zentrum Luftoperationen der Luftwaffe responsible for providing command and control to air operations Air Force Forces Command Luftwaffentruppenkommando 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 Edit Uedem Putgarten Colpin Tempelhof Elmenhorst Dobern Gleina Dobraberg Grosser Arber Messstetten Freising Lauda Erbeskopf Brekendorf Brockzetel Visselhovede Auenhausen Marienbaum Erndtebruck Schonewaldeclass notpageimage German Air Force radar stations and control and reporting centers HR 3000 HADR radar station GM 406F radar station RRP 117 radar station Control and Reporting Center 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 Luftwaffenunterstutzungsgruppe in Kalkar Control and Reporting Center 2 Einsatzfuhrungsbereich 2 in Erndtebruck 36 Operations Squadron 21 in Erndtebruck Operations Support Squadron 22 in Erndtebruck Sensor Platoon I in Lauda Remote Radar Post 240 Loneship in Erndtebruck 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 Visselhovede 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 Erndtebruck Education and Training Center in Erndtebruck Education Test and Training Group in Erndtebruck Control and Reporting Center 3 Einsatzfuhrungsbereich 3 in Schonewalde 37 Operations Squadron 31 in Schonewalde Operations Support Squadron 32 in Schonewalde Sensor Platoon III in Colpin Remote Radar Post 351 Matchpoint in Putgarten with RRP 117 Remote Radar Post 352 Mindreader in Colpin 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 Dobern with RRP 117 Remote Radar Post 355 Royal Flash in Gleina with RRP 117 Remote Radar Post 357 on Dobraberg with RRP 117 Remote Radar Post 358 Snow Cap on Grosser Arber with RRP 117 Deployable Control and Reporting Centre in Schonewalde Air Force Command Support Center Fuhrungsunterstutzungszentrum der Luftwaffe in Koln Wahn German Representation at NATO s Allied Air Command at Ramstein Air Base German Representation at Joint Air Power Competence Centre in Kalkar German Representation at European Air Transport Command in Eindhoven Air Base German Representation at NATO Airborne Early Warning amp Control Force Command at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen German Representation at Alliance Ground Surveillance in Sigonella Air BaseAir Force Forces Command Edit The main subordinate elements of the Air Force Operational Forces Command are Directly subordinated institutions Air Force Air and Space Medicine Center at Koln Wahn Air BaseSubordinated flying units Tactical Air Force Wing 31 Boelcke at Norvenich Air Base with Eurofighter Typhoon Tactical Air Force Wing 33 at Buchel Air Base with Tornado IDS Tactical Air Force Wing 51 Immelmann at Schleswig Air Base with Tornado IDS ECR Tornado flight training returned from Holloman AFB USA to Schleswig Jagel as a squadron under the Immelmann Wing 38 Tactical Air Force Wing 71 Richthofen at Wittmundhafen Air Base with Eurofighter Typhoon 39 Tactical Air Force Wing 73 Steinhoff at Laage Air Base with Eurofighter Typhoon Typhoon OCU Tactical Air Force Wing 74 at Neuburg Air Base with Eurofighter Typhoon Air Transport Wing 62 at Wunstorf Air Base with A400M Atlas Helicopter Wing 64 at Laupheim Air Base and Holzdorf Air Base Flying Group at Laupheim Air Base with CH 53 Sea Stallion and H145M LUH SOF Air Transport Group at Holzdorf Air Base with CH 53 Sea Stallion Executive Transport Wing at Koln Wahn Airport 1st Air Transport Squadron at Koln Wahn Airport with Airbus A330 MRTT 2nd Air Transport Squadron at Koln Wahn Airport with A340 300 VIP Airbus A321 A319CJ Global 5000 and 3rd Air Transport Squadron at Berlin Tegel Airport with AS532 U2 Cougar Air Force Tactical Training Command USA Holloman AFB New Mexico German Representation at Euro NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Sheppard AFB Texas with T 6 Texan II and T 38C Talon German Air Force Training Squadron 2 at NAS Pensacola Florida German Air Force Training Squadron 3 at Phoenix Goodyear Airport Arizona Electronic Warfare Flying Weapon Systems Center in KleinaitingenSubordinated ground based units Air Defence Missile Wing 1 Schleswig Holstein in Husum Air Base Air Defence Missile Group 21 in Sanitz and Prangendorf with MIM 104 Patriot Air Defence Missile Group 24 in Bad Sulze with MIM 104 Patriot Air Defence Missile Group 26 in Husum Air Base with MIM 104 Patriot Air Defence Missile Group 61 in Todendorf with MANTIS part of the Royal Netherlands Army s Joint Ground based Air Defence Command since April 2018 Air Defence Missiles Tactical Training and Instruction Center in Fort Bliss Texas Air Defence Missiles Training Center in Husum Air Force Regiment Friesland at Jever Air Base Battalion I Infantry at Jever Air Base Battalion II Logistics Sappers Firefighters at Diepholz Air Base Air Force Officer School in Furstenfeldbruck Air Force Non Commissioned Officer School in Appen and Heide Air Force Training Battalion in Germersheim Air Force Support Group at Koln Wahn Air BaseSubordinated support units Weapon System Support Center 1 at Erding Air Base Maintenance Center 11 at Erding Air Base Maintenance Center 12 in Ummendorf Maintenance Center 13 at Landsberg Lech Air Base Maintenance Center 14 at Ingolstadt Manching Air Base Weapon System Support Center 2 at Diepholz Air Base Maintenance Center 21 at Diepholz Air Base will move to Holzdorf Air Base Maintenance Center 23 at Wunstorf Air Base Maintenance Center 24 at Trollenhagen Air Base will move to Laage Air Base Maintenance Center 25 in Erndtebruck Maintenance Center 26 at Wunstorf Air Base Air Force Technical Training Center at Fassberg Air Base Air Force Technical Training Center North at Fassberg Air Base Air Force Technical Training Center South at Kaufbeuren Air Base Air Force Professional College at Fassberg Air Base German Representation at the NATO Programming Center in Glons BelgiumNorth American training centers Edit Luftwaffe Panavia Tornados at CFB Goose Bay In light of the destroyed infrastructure of West Germany post World War II the restrictions on aircraft production placed on Germany and the later restrictive flying zones available for training pilots the reconstructed Luftwaffe trained most of its pilots tactically away from Germany mainly in the United States and Canada where most of its aircraft were sourced During the 1960s and 1970s a very large number of Luftwaffe jet crashes the Luftwaffe suffered a 36 percent crash rate for F 84F Thunderstreaks and an almost 30 percent loss of F 104 Starfighters created considerable public demand for moving Luftwaffe combat training centers away from Germany As a result the Luftwaffe set up two tactical training centers one like those of many of the NATO forces at the Royal Canadian Air Force base at Goose Bay and the second in a unique partnership with the United States Air Force at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico F 104 pilots had already been trained at Luke Air Force Base Arizona since 1964 Both facilities provide access to large unpopulated areas where tactical and combat training can take place without danger to large populations F 4Es of the 1st GAFTS On 1 May 1996 the Luftwaffe established the German Air Force Tactical Training Center TTC in concert with the United States Air Force 20th Fighter Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico which provides aircrew training in the F 4F Phantom II The TTC serves as the parent command for two German aircrew training squadrons The F 4 Training Squadron oversees all German F 4 student personnel affairs and provides German instructor pilots to cooperate in the contracted F 4 training program provided by the U S Air Force 20th Fighter Squadron A second TTC unit the Tornado Training Squadron provides academic and tactical flying training by German air force instructors for German Tornado aircrews The first contingent of Tornado aircraft arrived at Holloman in March 1996 More than 300 German air force personnel are permanently assigned at Holloman to the TTC the only unit of its kind in the United States The German Air Force Flying Training Center was activated on 31 March 1996 with German Air Force Chief of Staff Gen Portz and U S Air Force Chief of Staff Gen Michael Ryan present The Luftwaffe has since stationed up to 800 personnel at Holloman for training exercises due to limited training space in Europe In September 2004 the Luftwaffe announced a reduction in its training program by about 20 By the end of 2006 650 Luftwaffe personnel and 25 Tornado aircraft were assigned to Holloman Air bases EditIn 2020 the Air Force uses 12 air bases four of which host no flying units In the future Lechfeld Air Base will become home to a second A400M wing of the German Air Force This was planned to be a German led multinational wing for NATO partners but was canceled in March 2022 due to little interest and cost 40 Furthermore the Air Force has a presence at three civilian airports incl the Airport Berlin Tegel which has been closed in November 2020 Name 41 42 Major Tenants ICAO Code 41 42 IATA Code 43 Runways Code 41 42 Year Nearest City 41 StateDirection 41 42 Cover 41 42 Size 41 42 Berlin Tegel Airport Executive Transport Wing only helicopters because the runways are decommissioned 44 EDDT TXL 08L 26R Asphalt 3022x45 1948 Berlin Berlin08R 26L Asphalt 2427x45Buchel Air Base Tactical Wing 33 ETSB 03 21 Asphalt 2507x45 1955 Buchel Rhineland PalatinateCologne Bonn Airport Executive Transport Wing EDDK CGN 14L 32R Asphalt 3815x60 1938 Cologne North Rhine Westphalia06 24 Concrete 2459x4514R 32L Asphalt 1863x45Diepholz Air Base ETND 08 26 Asphalt 1283x45 1936 Diepholz Lower SaxonyHohn Air Base Reserve airfield for Tactical Wing 51 formerly Air Transport Wing 63 ETNH 08 26 Concrete 2440x30 Hohn Schleswig HolsteinHolzdorf Air Base Helicopter Wing 64 ETSH 09 27 Asphalt 2419x30 1974 Holzdorf Saxony AnhaltLandsberg Lech Air Base Reserve airfield for Tactical Wing 74 ETSA 07 25 Concrete 2066x30 1935 Landsberg BavariaLaupheim Air Base Helicopter Wing 64 ETHL 09 27 Asphalt 1646x30 1940 Laupheim Baden WurttembergLechfeld Air Base Second A400M wing to be formed 45 ETSL 03 21 Concrete 2678x30 1912 Klosterlechfeld BavariaNeuburg Air Base Tactical Wing 74 ETSN 09 27 Asphalt 2440x30 1960 Neuburg BavariaNorvenich Air Base Tactical Wing 31 ETNN QOE 07 25 Asphalt 2439x45 1954 Norvenich North Rhine WestphaliaRostock Laage Airport Tactical Wing 73 ETNL RLG 10 28 Concrete 2500x45 1984 Laage Mecklenburg VorpommernSchleswig Air Base Tactical Wing 51 ETNS WBG 05 23 Asphalt 2439x30 Schleswig Schleswig HolsteinWittmundhafen Air Base Tactical Wing 71 ETNT 08 26 Asphalt 2440x30 1951 Wittmund Lower SaxonyWunstorf Air Base Air Transport Wing 62 ETNW 08 26 Asphalt 1877x46 5 1936 Wunstorf Lower Saxony03 21 Asphalt 1699x47 508 26 Grass 1088x40 Berlin Tegel Buchel Erding Hohn Holzdorf Laupheim Koln Wahn Laage Landsberg Lech Lechfeld Neuburg Norvenich Schleswig Wittmundhafen Wunstorf Jever Husum Diepholz Sanitz Bad Sulze Todendorfclass notpageimage Air bases of the German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon Tornado IDS Tornado ECR amp IDS A400M Atlas C 160 Transall CH 53 Sea Stallion VIP Transport Air Force Regiment Air Defence Missile Wing 1 Bases without flying unitsPersonnel EditIn 2012 the Air Force had an authorized strength of 44 565 active airmen women and 4 914 reservists 4 The civil personnel within the Air Force is being reduced to 5 950 officials and employees Most of the civilian employees work in maintenance and the Air Force Fire Department On 20 September 2011 defense minister Thomas de Maiziere announced that the Air Force would shrink to 23 000 airmen women 46 Training Edit The Luftwaffe has set up a total of 5 training institutions namely the Offizierschule der Luftwaffe Unteroffizierschule der Luftwaffe Luftwaffenausbildungsbataillon Fachschule der Luftwaffe and Technische Ausbildungszentrum der Luftwaffe for training catering both personnel in active service and civilians willing to enter the Luftwaffe 47 Symbols emblems and uniform EditRoundel and serial number Edit A preserved Fokker D VII with the original style Balkenkreuz of 1918 German Air Force dress uniform Originally German Air Force aircraft carried an Iron Cross appearing to be closely modeled on that used by the 1916 17 era Imperial German Luftstreitkrafte through the spring of 1918 but no longer have the white border around the crosses ends thusly resembling the orthogonal white flanks of the earlier 1918 1945 era Balkenkreuz national marking as an identifying feature on all four wing positions and on both sides on the rear of the fuselage and a small tricolor German flag painted on the vertical stabilizer Each aircraft also carried a serial number consisting of two letters which identified the service and combat wing followed by three numbers identifying the squadron and the number of the plane within the squadron almost graphically resembling the USAF s own buzz numbers of the same period This system was changed in 1968 The large Iron Cross and serial numbers have since been replaced on all aircraft by a four number registration code appearing somewhat in the manner of the earlier alphanumeric Geschwaderkennung combat wing code characters used by their World War II predecessor separated by an Iron Cross in the middle the first two numbers identify the type of aircraft and the second two numbers are sequential for each type When writing the registration number the Iron Cross is written as a I e the Tornado IDS of the Air Force are numbered from 43 01 to 46 22 while the Tornado ECR of the Air Force is numbered from 46 23 to 46 57 The numbers from 30 01 to 33 99 are being used for the Eurofighter Uniform Edit The ranks of the Air Force are identical to the ranks of the German Army The Air Force field dress is the same as the army field dress The dress uniform of the Air Force is dark blue with gold yellow wings as collar patches As headdress a dark blue side cap or dark blue peaked cap can be worn Members of the German Air Force Regiment wear a dark blue beret Aircraft EditCurrent inventory Edit A Eurofighter Typhoon during exercise Frisian Flag A CH 53G in flight over ILA Berlin 2016 A Luftwaffe A400M on its maiden flight Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service NotesCombat AircraftEurofighter Typhoon Europe multirole 141 48 38 on order tranche 4 49 Panavia Tornado Europe multirole IDS 75 50 Lockheed Martin F 35 United States multirole F 35A 0 51 35 on order 51 Electronic WarfarePanavia Tornado Europe SEAD ECR 30 50 TankerLockheed Martin C 130J United States aerial refueling KC 130J 30 0 52 3 on order 52 TransportAirbus A319 Europe VIP transport Open Skies A319CJ 2 53 1 54 Airbus A321 Europe VIP transport A321 200 1 53 Airbus A321neo Europe transport MEDEVAC A321LR 2 55 Airbus A340 Europe VIP transport A340 300 2 53 Will be replaced by ACJ350 in 2023 56 Airbus A350 Europe VIP transport ACJ350 3 56 57 Airbus A400M Europe tactical airlifter aerial refueling 38 58 15 on order 58 Bombardier Global 5000 Canada VIP transport 3 53 Bombardier Global 6000 Canada VIP transport 3 53 3 SIGINT on order 59 60 Lockheed Martin C 130J United States tactical airlifter C 130J 30 3 61 HelicopterAirbus Helicopters H145 Europe light utility H145M 15 50 flown for Special Forces CommandEurocopter AS532 Europe VIP transport AS532 U2 3 53 Sikorsky CH 53 United States transport CH 53G 66 62 Trainer aircraftGrob G 120 Germany basic trainer G 120A TP 6 63 5 63 Northrop T 38 United States jet trainer T 38C 64 UAVsIAI Eitan Israel surveillance and combat Heron TP 0 65 5 on order 65 IAI Heron Israel surveillance Heron 1 6 65 to be replaced by Heron TP 65 NOTE Germany is participating in the MRTT program for their aerial refueling needs along with contracting NHV to provide H145 rotorcraft training 66 67 See also Edit Military of Germany portal Aviation portalLuftstreitkrafte der NVA Glossary of German military terms Kommando LSK LV List of military aircraft of Germany Luftwaffenmuseum BerlinReferences Edit Aktuelle Personalzahlen der Bundeswehr Current personnel numbers of the Federal Defence Retrieved 28 May 2020 World Air Forces 2016 Flightglobal 19 Archived from the original on 24 June 2016 Retrieved 8 December 2016 a b Heiner Mollers 2012 Tradition und Traditionsverstandnis in der Deutschen Luftwaffe Geschichte Gegenwart Perspektiven BoD Books on Demand pp 57 ISBN 978 3 941571 17 4 a b The Military Balance 2012 p 118 Jagdgeschwader 71 Richthofen geschichte luftwaffe de in German Archived from the original on 4 February 2019 Retrieved 15 March 2019 German F 104 losses Ed Rasimus LT Scott A Norton USN Mike Schmitt anon Archived from the original on 25 December 2014 Retrieved 24 December 2014 MiG 29s leave Luftwaffe Archived 2010 06 24 at the Wayback Machine Flug Revue April 2004 The Victoria Advocate Google News Archive Search Archived from the original on 14 July 2015 Retrieved 24 December 2014 Owen Robert 2000 Deliberate Force a case study in effective air campaigning DIANE Publishing p 246 ISBN 1 58566 076 0 Trevor Findlay 1996 Challenges for the new peacekeepers Oxford University Press p 41 ISBN 0 19 829199 X Historic day for Germany BBC News 25 March 1999 Archived from the original on 18 December 2002 Retrieved 1 November 2006 The History of Fighter Bomber Wing 32 Archived from the original on 15 March 2012 Retrieved 22 May 2012 Germans takes over Baltic NATO mission The Baltic Times Baltic News Ltd 29 June 2005 Archived from the original on 11 March 2007 Retrieved 1 November 2006 Germany hails Eurofighter s Baltic debut as mission accomplished Flight International Dan Thisdell 12 November 2009 Archived from the original on 16 November 2009 Retrieved 29 November 2009 Recce Tornados in Afghanistan in German Luftwaffe de 17 February 2018 Retrieved 4 May 2018 Germany Announces Major Armed Forces Cuts Air Forces Monthly Key Publishing March 2004 p 8 Jordans Frank 26 September 2014 Breakdowns highlight Germany s struggles to project military might www stripes com Associated Press Archived from the original on 28 September 2014 Retrieved 27 September 2014 Germany s von der Leyen admits major Bundeswehr shortfalls www dw de Deutsche Welle 27 September 2014 Archived from the original on 28 September 2014 Retrieved 28 September 2014 a b Diaz Pablo 22 April 2022 Long live the Chinook Germany chooses CH 47F to replace its CH 53Gs Aviacionline Retrieved 28 April 2022 German Eurofighter Typhoons demonstrate interoperability and aerial diplomacy over the Negev desert Airbus Archived from the original on 10 January 2018 Retrieved 10 January 2018 Allison George 25 April 2018 Eurofighter outline why they believe Typhoon is the Perfect Choice for Germany UK Defence Journal Archived from the original on 16 November 2018 Retrieved 26 April 2018 Germany C 130J and KC 130J Aircraft The Official Home of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency www dsca mil Archived from the original on 4 July 2018 Retrieved 8 February 2019 France C 130J Aircraft The Official Home of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency www dsca mil Archived from the original on 9 February 2019 Retrieved 8 February 2019 Perry Dominic 21 April 2020 Germany picks Super Hornet and more Eurofighters for Tornado replacement Flight Global Zeitvogel Karin 23 April 2020 Germany won t be buying US planes to replace aging Tornados before 2022 official says Stars and Stripes Retrieved 30 January 2021 Trevithick Joseph 26 March 2020 Nukes Drive Germany s Plan To Replace Tornados With Typhoons Super Hornets and Growlers The War Zone Retrieved 30 January 2020 Trevithick Joseph 3 April 2019 Here s Where Boeing Aims To Take The Super Hornet In The Decades To Come The War Zone Archived from the original on 10 July 2019 Retrieved 31 March 2020 Goodbye C 160 Transall European Air Transport Command 11 October 2021 Retrieved 16 December 2021 Germany to buy 35 Lockheed F 35 fighter jets from U S amid Ukraine crisis Reuters 15 March 2022 Retrieved 15 March 2022 Tirpak John A 15 March 2022 Germany to Buy F 35 and Typhoon Fighters as It Boosts Defense Spending Air Force Magazine Retrieved 15 March 2022 Germany to buy 60 heavy transport helicopters from Boeing Bild am Sonntag reports Reuters 23 April 2022 Retrieved 28 April 2022 Germany plays down Asian involvement as air force sends 13 planes to Australia for Pitch Black exercises ABC News 16 August 2022 Retrieved 16 August 2022 Orbats Scramble Archived 2013 06 24 at the Wayback Machine Scramblemagazine nl Retrieved on 2013 08 16 Eurofighter Typhoon Marks Delivery of 400th Aircraft Archived 2013 12 12 at the Wayback Machine December 04 2013 Die Neuausrichtung der Bundeswehr PDF Germany German Ministry of Defence June 2012 pp 47 55 permanent dead link Einsatzfuhrungsbereich 2 German Air Force Archived from the original on 29 April 2018 Retrieved 21 May 2018 Einsatzfuhrungsbereich 3 German Air Force Archived from the original on 27 April 2018 Retrieved 21 May 2018 Luftwaffe 26 July 2016 Mission accomplished well done in German Homepage der Luftwaffe Archived from the original on 28 July 2016 Retrieved 28 July 2016 Melanie Hanz 5 March 2015 Weniger in Upjever mehr in Wittmund NWZ Online in German Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 20 April 2016 Fliegerhorst Lechfeld Der A400M soll doch nicht kommen 13 March 2022 a b c d e f g Amt fur Flugsicherung der Bundeswehr News Portal Aeronautical Publications Archived from the original on 1 June 2012 Retrieved 24 December 2014 a b c d e f DoD Information Publication Enroute Supplement Europe North Africa and Middle East Great Circle Search Retrieved 24 December 2014 Ministerin Tegel schliesst die Bundeswehr bleibt jedenfalls die Hubschrauber Augen geradeaus in German Retrieved 28 December 2020 Lechfeld A400M Stationierung auch ohne Interesse aus der Nato 18 February 2022 The Military Balance 2013 Archived 2018 10 01 at the Wayback Machine March 14 2013 Ausbildungseinrichtungen Luftwaffe in German Archived from the original on 20 June 2018 Retrieved 21 June 2018 Orders Deliveries In Operation Military aircraft by Country Worldwide PDF Airbus 30 November 2021 Retrieved 10 January 2022 Airbus signs contract for 38 Eurofighters with Germany Airbus 11 November 2020 Retrieved 25 June 2022 a b c WORLD AIR FORCES 2022 Flight Global Retrieved 25 June 2022 a b Sondervermogen Bundeswehr kann 35 F 35A fur rund 8 3 Milliarden Euro kaufen Bundesministerium der Verteidigung 14 December 2022 Retrieved 24 December 2022 a b Two German Air Force first flights scramble nl 10 November 2021 Retrieved 4 December 2021 a b c d e f Die Flugbereitschaft des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung Bundeswehr in German Retrieved 25 June 2022 Open Skies BMVg in German Retrieved 25 June 2022 Das BAAINBw ubernimmt zweiten Airbus A321LR fur die Bundeswehr Bundesamt fur Ausrustung Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr in German 12 August 2022 Retrieved 12 August 2022 a b Pallini Thomas 23 August 2020 Germany just took delivery of its new VIP plane that will fly the country s top government officials take a look Business Insider Retrieved 25 June 2022 Germany Takes Delivery Of Its 1st Fully Equipped Government Airbus A350 simpleflying com 16 November 2022 Retrieved 16 November 2022 a b 15 Bericht des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung zu Rustungsangelegenheiten Teil 1 PDF BMVg 1 June 2022 Retrieved 2 July 2022 Germany to regain SIGINT capability with new Pegasus fleet Flight Global 30 June 2021 Retrieved 25 June 2022 German Air Force SIGINT capacity www scramble nl 27 November 2022 Retrieved 27 November 2022 Germany s third C 130J delivered scramble nl 25 August 2022 Retrieved 7 September 2022 Rheinmetall now providing support and maintenance for German Air Force CH 53G transport helicopters at all bases Press release Rheinmetall 22 March 2022 Retrieved 2 April 2022 a b FLEET CUSTOMERS Grob Aircraft Retrieved 25 June 2022 Die Northrop T 38C Talon Bundeswehr Retrieved 30 September 2022 a b c d Neue Planungen zu bewaffneten und bewaffnungsfahigen Drohnen PDF Deutscher Bundestag in German 6 March 2018 Retrieved 26 June 2022 NHV awarded H145 service contract by German Air Force NHV 10 December 2020 Retrieved 25 June 2022 Sieben Tankflugzeuge Airbus A330 MRTT fur die NATO Bundeswehr Journal 25 September 2017 Retrieved 20 May 2018 Further reading EditHundreds of books magazines and articles have been written about the Luftwaffe A select few are listed here Amadio Jill 2002 Gunther Rall A Memoir Seven Locks Press ISBN 0 9715533 0 0 Philpott Bryan 1986 History of the German Air Force Hamlyn ISBN 0 600 50293 7 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Air force of Germany Official website in German Luftwaffe museum in German and English Fleet of Luftwaffe Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title German Air Force amp oldid 1151999068, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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