The Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier received the plan of the mission of the German armed forces against the "Islamic State" terrorist organization at the Chancellery.
In the 16 page document, obtained by Spiegel, the cost of the entire mission is estimated at 134 million. The mandate is limited to 31 December 2016. The Germans, in the plan presented, plan to deploy four to six Tornados, an Airbus tanker A310 and 1200 support men for flight operations.
The Bundeswehr is intended to support not only France, but also Iraq and the US-led coalition. An open question remains if and how the Bundeswehr will cooperate with Russia. Moscow is not part of the international alliance against the jihadists, but France has in fact undertaken a close collaboration with the Russians. The potential field of application of the Tornado extends from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, to protect the German frigate that could operate to protect the Charles de Gaulle.
The plan should be adopted tomorrow by the Council of Ministers and subsequently by the Bundestag. The approval of the mission against ISIS is given for certain, despite the left-wing perplexity of the federal government's plans. The fleet of Tornado Germans will remain in service until 2025. THE Tornado ECR are deployed at Jagel with the TaktLwG 51, while the TaktLwG 33, in Buchel, is the only unit of the Luftwaffe equipped with the pod Litening III which allows the use of "intelligent" ammunition.
(photo: Bundeswehr)
