This list intends to give an accurate detail list of the equipment currently fielded by the German Air Force.
| Aircraft | Origin | Image | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat Aircraft | ||||||
| Eurofighter Typhoon |  Germany
|  | Interceptor | T1 | 33 | |
| Swingrole | T2 | 79 | ||||
| Swingrole | T3 | 31 | ||||
| Panavia Tornado | Germany
|  | multirole | IDS | 68 | [1] |
| Panavia Tornado | Germany
|  | SEAD / ECR (Electronic Combat Reconnaissance) | ECR | 21 | [1] |
| Military Transport / Aerial refueling | ||||||
| Airbus A400M |  Europe |  | tactical airlifter / aerial refueling | A400M | 40 | 13 additional still on order [2] |
| Lockheed Martin C-130J |  United States |  | tactical airlifter | C-130J-30 | 3 | [3] |
| United States |  | tactical airlifter / aerial refueling | KC-130J-30 | 3 | [4] | |
| Helicopter | ||||||
| Airbus Helicopters H145 | Germany |  | light utility | H145M | 15 | German Air Force as a special forces transport helicopter and has been configured to support their missions both during the day and night. Flown by Special Forces Command [1] |
| Eurocopter AS532 |  France |  | VIP transport | AS532 U2 | 3 | [5] |
| Sikorsky CH-53 | United States |  | transport | CH-53G | 66 | [6] |
| Trainer aircraft | ||||||
| Grob G 120 | Germany |  | basic trainer | G 120A / G 120TP | 6 / 5 | [7] / [7] |
| Northrop T-38 | United States |  | jet trainer | T-38C | [8] | |
| UAVs | ||||||
| IAI Heron |  Israel |  | surveillance | Heron 1 | 5 [9] | to be replaced by Heron TP [9] |
| IAI Heron | Israel |  | surveillance and combat | Heron TP (Eitan) | 5 [9] | 5 on order [9] |
| "White Fleet" | ||||||
| Airbus A319 | Europe |  | VIP transport | A319CJ | 2 | Passenger and material transport, strategic patient air transport or flights within the framework of arms control [5] |
| Open Skies | A319OH | 1 | The new observation platform OH ("Offener Himmel" = "Open Sky") is equipped with electro-optical sensors, an EO-S/digital camera and an infrared sensor (IR-S) based on an A319CJ from Lufthansa Technik. [10] | |||
| Airbus A321 | Europe |  | VIP, troops transport | A321-200 | 1 | [5] |
| Airbus A321neo | Europe | Transport and | A321LR | 2 | [11] | |
| Airbus A350 | Europe |  | VIP, troops transport | ACJ350 | 3 | [12] [13] |
| Bombardier Global 5000 |  Canada |  | VIP transport | Global 5000 | 3 | [5] |
| Bombardier Global 6000 | Canada |  | VIP transport | Global 6000 | 3 | [14] [15] [5] |
| Aircraft | Origin | Operator | Image | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A330 | Europe | MMF (Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet) |  | Tanker | A330 MRTT | 7 | 3 on order, the last one to be delivered in 2026 |
| Boeing E-3 Sentry | United States | NAEW&CF program (NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force)
|  | AEW&C (Airborne early warning and control) | E-3A | 14 | 18 aircraft used initially [1] |
| Northrop Grumman – RQ-4 Global Hawk | United States | AGS (Alliance Ground Surveillance)
|  | UAV HALE / ISR / | RQ-4D Phoenix (Block 40) | 5 |
Note, NHV provides the H145 rotorcraft training [16] [17]
The IDS standard variant is a strike aircraft. The Recce sub-variant can perform all tasks of the IDS, and is capable of performing reconnaissance missions with a pod. This variant has a modified cockpit cabling and a different cockpit display (ASSTA-1 modernisation). [18]
An electronic warfare and SEAD / DEAD aircraft [18] .
Conventional Guided bombs:
| Model | Image | Origin | Type | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIM-104 Patriot Mobile and Protected Signals Intelligence |  | Germany
| SAM | 11 | During Cold War, Germany had 36 Patriot systems in service. In April 2023:
The systems in service are upgraded to PAC-3 standard, and it is equipped with PAC-2 and PAC-3 CRI missiles in service. Germany has also PAC-3 MSE and PAC-2 GEM-T missiles on order. Among the systems in service:
In April 2023, Germany announced its intention to remove its support by the end of the year. Some maintenance is required on those systems. [33] The existing PAC2 missiles have a service life limited to 2030. [34] |
| Ozelot LeFlaSys (leichtes Flugabwehrsystem) | FlaRaWaTrg: AFF: | Germany
| Light SHORAD | 67 vehicles | System based on Wiesel 2 vehicles, composed of the variants:
Operated by the 3rd Squadron of 61 Surface-to-Air Missile Group. A standard battery is made of
|
| Model | Image | Origin | Type | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground Master 406F |  | France
| Early Warning (EW) Radar / | 6 | Modified variant of the GM400 for the German forces, for a fixed radar system. Operated by the "Operational Command Service" of the Luftwaffe (EinsFüDstLw). Manufactured by Thales Raytheon Systems. [36] |
| HADR NF |  | Germany
| 3D radar / Long range air surveillance / | 4 | |
| RRP 117 |  | United States | 3D radar / Long range air surveillance / | 8 | Under radome, in service since 1998 |
| Selex RAT-31DL |  |  Italy | L-band solid state phased array / 3D surveillance radar | 2 | 500 km range https://electronics.leonardo.com/en/products/rat-31dl |
| Hensoldt’s ASR-S |  (Illustration image) | Germany | Airport surveillance radar | 20 | Radar used for:
|
| Model | Image | Origin | Type | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TACAN |  | — | Tactical air navigation | — | [38] |
| Aircraft | Origin | Image | Type | Variant | Ordered | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat Aircraft | ||||||
| Eurofighter Typhoon |  United Kingdom
| | Swingrole | T4 | 38 | [39] |
| SEAD / ECR (Electronic Combat Reconnaissance) | ECR | 15 – 30 | [40] [41] | |||
| Lockheed Martin F-35 | United States |  | multirole / nuclear deterrent bomber | F-35A | 35 | [42] Purchased to continue German contribution to the Nuclear sharing B61-12 |
| Helicopter | ||||||
| CH-47 Chinook | United States |  | Heavy transport helicopter | CH-47F Block II | 60 | [43] |
| H145 | Germany |  | Attack helicopter | H145M | 5 | 62 ordered by the German military, 5 for the Luftwaffe, 57 for the army. 20 additional ones are on option. [44] |
| UAVs | ||||||
| Eurodrone | France
|  | surveillance, reconnaissance and combat | — | 21 | 7 systems on contract with 21 drones for €3 billion [45] [46] |
| SIGINT | ||||||
| Pegasus Based on Bombardier Global 6000 | Canada |  Note: illustration image | Surveillance | Global 6000 | 3 | Ordered in 2021, to enter service by 2025 and replace the Eurohawk [14] [15] [5] |
List of aircraft that are planned to be replaced in a near future for which the successor has not yet been selected.
| Aircraft | Origin | Image | Type | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurocopter AS532 U2 | France | | VIP transport | 3 | €200 million budget for the replacement. It is planned to be replaced from 2027 (after 30 years in service). [47] |
Future aircraft for the German Air Force, to take over the nuclear deterrence mission and to be used as a strike aircraft as well: [48]
| System | Program participants | Image | Origin | Type | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAM Systems | ||||||
| Arrow 3 | Germany |  | Israel United States | Anti-ballistic missile | 3 | The sale has been approved by Israel and the USA. The contract cost is $3.5 billion and Germany already paid a $600 million initial payment [53] [54] |
| MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3+ Part of the ESSI |  BEL
| | Germany
| SAM / Anti-ballistic missile | 4 | Order of 4 batteries to Raytheon confirmed in March 2024, for $1.2 billion [55] The contract includes the batteries, spare parts, and support services. |
| IRIS-T SL Part of the ESSI |  | Germany | Tactical air defense system | 6 [56] | The PAC-3 MSE missile is expected to be supplemented by IRIS-T SLM as secondary missile for ground-based medium range air defense. It is based on the IRIS-T air-to-air missile [57] equipped with an enlarged rocket motor, datalink, and jettisonable drag-reducing nose cone. [58] The radar system expected is the Hensoldt TRML-4D, and it should be supported by the Integrated Battle Management Software Fire Control System (IBMS-FS) by Airbus. Six batteries are purchased for €950 million and the delivery will start from 2024, [59] 8 in total are expected eventually. | |
| SAM missiles | ||||||
| MIM-104 Patriot -PAC-2 GEM-T | Germany | | Germany United States | Surface-to-air missiles | 100 (+ 400 on option) | Order confirmed for €602.1 million euros for the 100 missiles, replacement of the missiles transferred to Ukraine. 400 additional for €2.4 billion to be confirmed. Contract runs through 2024. The missiles will be assembled in Germany, and the main subcontractors will be MBDA, Bayern Chemie, TDW Gesellschaft für Wirksysteme, Sener Aerospacial and RTX. [60] |
| Air-to-air missiles | ||||||
| IRIS-T | Germany |  | Germany | Air-to-air missiles | 120 (+ 1,160 in option) | Ordered in December 2023. €108 million for the 120 first missiles in the LFK version (air-air). [61] |
The equipment mentioned here is part of the program NNbS, ("Nah- und Nächstbereichs-schutz"), close air-support for the ground troops. At the moment, no decision has been made regarding the operator of those systems, it could go to the Bundeswehr or the Luftwaffe. In 2010, the German forces decided to retire the last 90 Flakpanzer Gepard. In 2012, the air defense of the Bundeswehr was completely disbanded. The Luftwaffe was to support the German forces with their Wiesel 2 Ozelot, and German soldiers had access to FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS.
This equipment described below is the most likely candidates that have been mentioned by the German military and by the German defence industry. More details can be found on the page "List of modern equipment of the German Army".
| System | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM |  | The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) asked for the Congress approval of potentially USD $2.90 billion in military sales for the German Air Force on the 19th of July 2023. [62] [63] This sale would include:
|
| Brimstone |  | 274 short-range effectors planned to be ordered in 2024 for the Eurofighter. [64] |
| IRIS-T SLS Mk III | ARGE NNbS (joint venture including Diehl Defence, Rheinmetall Electronics and Hensoldt Sensors) offered the following solution for the "Surface-to-air missile / SHORAD" phase of the program: [65]
| |
| Skyranger 30 NNbS program (Nah- und Nächstbereichs-schutz) |  | Rheinmetall Air Defense offers this Boxer 8x8 equipped with an Oerlikon Skyranger 30 turret for the "SHORAD / C-RAM" phase of the program: [66] Weapons:
Sensors
|
| Patriot system maintenance |  |
|
| Geostationary communications satellites | — | Procurement of 2 SATCOMBw Level 3 Initial Capability satellites [64] |
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, representing the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, manages the project and is the prime customer.
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multi-role combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interdictor/strike) fighter-bomber, the Tornado ECR SEAD aircraft and the Tornado ADV interceptor aircraft.
The GBU-10 Paveway II is an American Paveway-series laser-guided bomb, based on the Mk 84 general-purpose bomb, but with laser seeking capabilities and wings for guidance. Introduced into service c. 1976, it is used today by USAF, US Navy, US Marine Corps, Royal Australian Air Force and various NATO air forces.
The Mark 84 or BLU-117 is a 2,000-pound (900 kg) American general-purpose bomb. It is the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb to be dropped. At the time, it was the third largest bomb by weight in the US inventory behind the 15,000-pound (6,800 kg) BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" and the 3,000-pound (1,400 kg) M118 "demolition" bomb. It is currently sixth in size due to the addition of the 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) GBU-28 in 1991, the 22,600 lb (10,300 kg) GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) in 2003, and the 30,000 lb (14,000 kg) Massive Ordnance Penetrator.
GBU-24 Paveway III or simply GBU-24 is a family of laser-guided bombs, a sub-group of the larger Raytheon Paveway III family of weapons. The Paveway guidance package consists of a seeker package attached to the nose of the weapon, and a wing kit attached to the rear to provide stability and greater range.
The Mark 82 is a 500-pound (230 kg) unguided, low-drag general-purpose bomb, part of the United States Mark 80 series. The explosive filling is usually tritonal, though other compositions have sometimes been used.
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to 15 nautical miles (28 km). JDAM-equipped bombs range from 500 to 2,000 pounds. The JDAM's guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and United States Navy, hence the "joint" in JDAM. When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU identifier, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached.
Paveway is a series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs).
The Eurofighter Typhoon is in service with nine nations: United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Austria, with orders for all nine customers still pending as of September 2017. The aircraft has, as of 2016, been provided in a basic air-defense form and has been upgraded to newer production standards which include internal IRST, air-to-ground precision strike capability, and HMSS helmets. Most of the major systems including the CAPTOR radar and the Defence Aids Sub-System (DASS) are expected to be improved and updated over time, with the radar being updated to an AESA, being the CAPTOR-E/CAESAR, of which the Kuwait Air Force will be the inaugural operator, with first deliveries of their 28 new-built aircraft to commence in 2019.
The German Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of 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.
A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect. They are designed to be effective against enemy troops, vehicles, and buildings.
The Texas Instruments BOLT-117, retrospectively redesignated as the GBU-1/B was the world's first laser-guided bomb (LGB). It consisted of a standard M117 750-pound (340 kg) bomb case with a KMU-342 laser guidance and control kit. This consisted of a gimballed laser seeker on the front of the bomb and tail and control fins to guide the bomb to the target. The latter used the bang-bang method of control where each control surface was either straight or fully deflected. This was inefficient aerodynamically, but reduced costs and minimized demands on the primitive onboard electronics.
A guided bomb is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP).
The Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces.
This is a list of weapons used by the Swedish Air Force.
A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the First Gulf War guided munitions accounted for only 9% of weapons fired, but accounted for 75% of all successful hits. Despite guided weapons generally being used on more difficult targets, they were still 35 times more likely to destroy their targets per weapon dropped.
{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)Hundreds of books, magazines and articles have been written about the Luftwaffe. A select few are listed here.
| Leadership | |
|---|---|
| Equipment | |
| Ranks and insignia | |
