France and Germany Team Up for New Fighter Jet

French Defence Minister Florence Parly, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Safran Chairman of the Board Ross McInnes , visit the French high-technology group Safran plant in Genneviliers, near Paris, on February 6, 2019, during the inauguration of a construction platform as part of the French-German FCAS (Future Combat Air System). (THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Working together on advanced military capabilities strengthens the prophesied Franco-German alliance.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced on February 6 that France and Germany will sign a €65 million (us$73.5 million) deal to proceed with a project to produce a joint stealth fighter jet.

“What we are doing today with the Franco-German fighter jet of the future is concrete, balanced, makes us stronger, and prepares for the defense of Europe,” wrote Parly.

Billions for European Wars (II)

BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Own report) – With billions in arms programs at the EU and national levels, the EU is seeking to become a globally operating military power. At its summit last week, the EU agreed not only to enhance cooperation among the member armed forces to facilitate their combat deployment – for example in Africa – but to also rapidly establish a “defense fund” planning to reallocate funds from civilian to military use. In a few years, Brussels will already be allocating €1.5 billion annually for both research and development of new military technology. The German government is also increasing its military spending and decided last week to allocate nearly ten billion euros for arms projects, including warships, tanker aircraft, satellites, and optimizing existing weaponry for current wars. In addition, billions are being earmarked for completely new projects. Lucrative for the arms industry, they include the Multi-role Combat Ship MKS 180, and a new fighter jet, capable of competing with the US F-35 and being integrated with guided missiles, drones and other weaponry.

EU states eye production of new fighter jet

New weapons system to help create EU defence sovereignty. (Photo: Defence Images)

 

Airbus, the French-based firm, is preparing to make a new fighter jet as the EU rolls out its defence integration project.

Fernando Alonso, the head of the firm’s military branch, told Handelsblatt, a German newspaper, that Germany and Spain have already signed up for the project and that he hoped France would also come on board.

“We are working on various building blocks in Germany and Spain, some of the financing comes from the governments, we hope for more,” he said.

German fighter jets start patrolling Baltic skies with full ammo

From the Soviet propaganda outlet, Russia Today:

 

A Eurofighter Typhoon © Carl Court / AFP

 

German fighter jets are flying the Baltic skies fully armed “for the first time since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis,” the DPA news agency reports citing the German Air Force’s Inspector General Karl Müllner. He explained the move was not about “escalation,” but it is needed to ensure parity when encountering a potential enemy. The German military official did not elaborate on which Air Force might become the enemy.

Müllner added that ammunition on board Eurofighters is also necessary to “motivate pilots” on missions in the Baltic skies.

In Flames (II)

SANAA/RIYADH/BERLIN (Own report) – Saudi Arabia is using German fighter planes to wage its aerial warfare in Yemen. This has been reported in several Arabian Peninsula news articles independently from one another. According to these articles, the Eurofighter, which German arms manufacturers have played a significant role producing, are being used to carry out so-called precision bombing of the Houthi rebels. The Saudi-led aggression coalition, which is receiving military and intelligence aid from the USA, is also politically supported by Berlin. This war, causing a humanitarian catastrophe, is geostrategic in nature. Saudi Arabia’s ruling clan and the West are seeking to prevent Iran from gaining influence through the Houthis on the Arabian Peninsula. However, it is unclear whether the Houthis are even acting in Iran’s interests. But, according experts, it is clear that the Al Qaeda network, whose Yemeni wing claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks in Paris last January, will be the main beneficiary of this war. The West – Germany included – is deliberately risking al Qaeda’s reinforcement.

Insular Military Solutions

BERLIN (Own report) – On the occasion of the December European Council meeting on European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation is applying pressure to have new steps made toward the intensification of EU military cooperation. According to a paper recently published by the foundation, the meeting – the first of its kind since 2003 – should assist in significantly enhancing the military clout of European countries. Given the fact that European military budgets are continuing to shrink and the previous rudiments of closer cooperation (“pooling and sharing”) have not really taken hold, new measures must be introduced. Under the slogan, “Insular Solutions,” the foundation pleads for the integration of the armed forces of a few states, first, at the regional level, to then make further attempts to consolidate these at the EU level. This concept is not only aimed at wearing down existing national resistance to the possible weakening of national arms industries, but also to weaken the British-French military alliance founded in November 2011 – seen as an obstacle to German military predominance in the EU.

Leading Nation of a Belligerent Europe

BERLIN/PARIS (Own report) – German government advisors are pleading for the creation of a joint German-French air force. In light of an alleged “deterioration of EU military efficiency,” the “two major nations” in Europe are “required to take the leadership,” according to a position paper published by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). “Clear signals” must finally be given and “concrete proposals for security policy cooperation” presented, rather than non-binding declarations of intent. For example, a fusion of the air forces of Germany and France would provide a good opportunity for promoting military as well as arms industry cooperation. Experts in Berlin have been complaining since some time that the desperately needed cooperation of the arms industries throughout the EU still has not really materialized, despite persistent political appeals. Aside from the advantages for the arms industry, this plea for the creation of a German-French air force is aimed at the recent French-British military cooperation, considered in Berlin as a means for preventing a German predominance of the EU’s war policy. Practical measures have now been taken to split the British-French alliance.

The Backbone of the Air Force

A German government affiliated think tank is drafting scenarios for future German wars. The Bundeswehr must adapt itself to counterinsurgency operations and removing reprehensible regimes from power, explained the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). According to this research institute, the Eurofighter, which is certified to have a “multifunctional capability,” will play a principal role. Because of the various types of bombs it carries, this jet fighter is considered excellent for close air support for ground troops, which has regularly led to massacres of civilians in Afghanistan. Secondly, the Eurofighter is considered essential for the “neutralization” of enemy “air warfare potential,” to create the conditions for “constant bombing” such as in Libya. In general, the SWP sees the Eurofighter as a “airborne computer network” with “perpetual update capabilities,” which has the capacity for becoming the “future backbone” of the German Air Force. The combat jet has also chances of being a good export item. After the Eurofighter went through its “baptism of fire” in the NATO attack on Libya, there were numerous interested buyers, particularly in the Middle East.

Full article: The Backbone of the Air Force (German Foreign Policy)