Airbus was commissioned by the German government to lay the groundwork for the replacement of the Tornado which will be disposed of within the next ten years by the Luftwaffe. The flight line of the Tornado is composed of 89 platforms, but only a third are really implementable for operations. The German Ministry of Defense, in its strategic roadmap, would like a new operational aerial platform within the 2030.
Few specifications released so far. We know the replacement of the Tornado will share part of the Eurofighter technology. From the Airbus transpires the proposal of a new hybrid aerial fleet, made up of fighters with crew and drones. The latter, almost certainly an evolution of the technological demonstrator Barracuda, would play different roles such as reconnaissance, target acquisition, electronic warfare and even air strikes. Specifications similar to the Air Force PCA, a low observability drone that will exploit the know-how acquired with previous US platforms. Will enter service in the 2030.
The German Ministry of Defense has already announced that the budget for military spending will grow from the current 34,2 to 39,2 billion within the 2020, specifying, however, that these sums would still not be able to cover the entire evolutionary cycle of a new Luftwaffe fighter . The decision to base the new platform on technology Eurofighter / Barracuda it was considered the cheapest and in line with the German strategic roadmap.
Finally, Airbus specifies that the development of the new hybrid aircraft fleet could also be joint, as happened for theEuro Fighter. These prospects do not apply to countries that have already purchased the F-35.
(photo: Bundeswehr)
