Germany plans to buy 15 additional F-35 fighter jets, Politico reported on Friday citing several people familiar with the matter, a move that would increase the country’s planned fleet of the US-made jet to 50.
Axar.az reports, citing Reuters, the report comes amid tensions between Germany and France on the joint Franco-German fighter jet FCAS project, after a report earlier this week that France now wants a workshare of 80 percent.
The German defense ministry did not immediately responded to a request for comment from Reuters.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that differences remained on the configuration of the project, which has been plagued by delays and infighting over workshare and intellectual property rights.
Should France stick to its demand, the resulting differences among project partners would make it unlikely that the project could enter its next phase as scheduled by the end of this year, an industry source told Reuters.