is preserved at the
Military History Museum in
Berlin. After
World War II, German aviation was severely curtailed, and military aviation was completely forbidden after the
Allied Control Commission disbanded the Nazi-era in August 1946. This changed in 1955 when West Germany joined
NATO, as the Western Allies believed that Germany was needed to counter the increasing military threat posed by the
Soviet Union and its
Warsaw Pact allies. Therefore, on 9 January 1956, a new German Air Force called was founded as a branch of the new . Many well-known fighter pilots of the s joined the new post-war air force and underwent refresher training in the US before returning to West Germany to upgrade on the latest U.S.-supplied hardware. These included
Erich Hartmann,
Gerhard Barkhorn,
Günther Rall and
Johannes Steinhoff. Steinhoff became commander-in-chief of the , with Rall as his immediate successor. Another pilot of World War II,
Josef Kammhuber, also made a significant career in the post-war , retiring in 1962 as Chief Inspector of the Air Force (). Despite the partial reliance of the new air force on airmen who had served in the s air arm, there was no organizational continuity between the old and the new . This is in line with the policy of the on the whole, which does not consider itself a successor of the and does not follow the traditions of any other previous German military organization.
First years The first volunteers of the arrived at the
Nörvenich Air Base in January 1956. In the same year, the was given with its first aircraft, the US-made
Republic F-84 Thunderstreak. At first, the was divided into two operational commands, one in Northern Germany, aligned with the British-led
Second Allied Tactical Air Force, and the other in Southern Germany, aligned with the American-led
Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force. In 1957, the took command of the Army Air Defence Troops located in
Rendsburg and began the expansion of its own air defense missile capabilities. The first squadron to be declared operational was the
Air Transport Wing 61 at
Erding Air Base, followed by the
31st Fighter-Bomber Squadron at
Büchel Air Base. In 1958, the received its first conscripts. In 1959, the declared the 11th Missile Group in
Kaufbeuren armed with
MGM-1 Matador surface-to-surface tactical nuclear cruise missiles operational. The same year
Fighter Wing 71 () equipped with
Canadair CL-13 fighters became operational at
Ahlhorner Heide Air Base. All aircraft sported—and continue to sport—the Iron Cross on the fuselage, harking back to the
pre-March 1918 days of World War I, while the national flag of West Germany is
displayed on the tail.
Cold War In 1963, the saw its first major reorganization. The two operational Air Force Group Commands – Command North and Command South were both split into two mixed Air Force divisions containing flying and air defense units and one Support division. Additionally, a 7th Air Force division was raised in
Schleswig-Holstein containing flying units, missile units, support units, and the German Navy's
naval aviation and placed under command of
Allied Forces Baltic Approaches. In 1960, the received its first
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter jets. The Starfighter remained in service for the entire duration of the Cold War, with the last being taken out of service in 1991. The received 916 Starfighters, 292 of which crashed, resulting in the deaths of 116 pilots. The disastrous service record of the Starfighter led to the
Starfighter crisis in 1966 as a reaction to 27 Starfighter crashes with 17 casualties in 1965 alone. The West German public referred to the Starfighter as the (widow-maker), (flying coffin), (falling fighter) and (
tent peg, literally "ground nail"). On 25 August 1966, the German Defence Minister
Kai-Uwe von Hassel relieved the Chief Inspector of the Air Force
Generalleutnant Werner Panitzki, and transferred Colonel
Erich Hartmann, commanding officer of the 71st Fighter Squadron, as both had publicly criticized the acquisition of the Starfighter as a "purely political decision". On 2 September 1966,
Johannes Steinhoff, with
Günther Rall as deputy, became the new Chief Inspector of the Air Force. Steinhoff and his deputy Günther Rall noted that the non-German F-104s proved much safer. The Americans blamed the high loss rate of the F-104s on the extremely low-level and aggressive flying of German pilots rather than any faults in the aircraft. Steinhoff and Rall went to America to learn to fly the Starfighter under Lockheed instruction and noted some specifics in the training (a lack of mountain and foggy-weather training), combined with handling capabilities (rapidly initiated, high G turns) of the aircraft that could cause accidents. Steinhoff and Rall, therefore, changed the training regimen for the F-104 pilots, and the accident rates fell to those comparable or better than other air forces. They also brought about the high level of training and professionalism seen today throughout the , and the start of a strategic direction for pilots to engage in tactical and combat training outside of Germany. However, the F-104 never lived down its reputation as a "widow-maker", and was replaced by the with the
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter and the
Panavia Tornado fighter-bomber in many units much earlier than in other national air forces. in 1996 IDSs delivered to the
Luftwaffe On Steinhoff's initiative, the opened the German Air Force Command USA/Canada () in
Fort Bliss, where the trained its missile and air defense troops, and pilots received their basic training. At the same time, the opened a Tactical Training Command in
Beja, Portugal, where pilots were trained in
Close Air Support missions. Between 1967 and 1970, the undertook a major reorganization of its forces. The two operational commands were disbanded and the four mixed Air Force divisions were divided into two flying divisions and two air defense divisions. The remainder of the units were divided into functional commands: • Air Force Operation Command (), with the signal regiments, the radar, and the signals intelligence units • Air Force Training Command (), with the schools and training regiments • Air Force Support Command (), with all logistical, maintenance, and repair units, and the Material Office of the Air Force • Air Force Transport Command (), with the air transport squadrons. Over the next decade, the received large amounts of new equipment, including in 1968 the first
C-160 Transall transport planes, in 1974 the
F-4 Phantom II fighter-bombers, in 1978 the first
Alpha Jet Version A light attack jets and in 1979 the first of 212
Panavia Tornado fighters. In 1986, the air defense forces began to replace their
Nike Hercules missile systems with state-of-the-art surface-to-air missile systems: first to arrive was the
MIM-104 Patriot system, followed one year later by
Roland short-range missile system.
Nuclear sharing Germany is participating in
NATO's
nuclear sharing concept. Nuclear sharing is a concept that involves member countries without
nuclear weapons of their own in the planning for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO, and in particular, provides for the armed forces of these countries to be involved in delivering these weapons in the event of their use. Soon after its founding, the German Air Force began to train with the US
Seventeenth Air Force in handling, arming, and delivering nuclear weapons. At first, the F-104 Starfighter was intended to be used solely as a nuclear delivery platform, armed with nuclear
air-to-air and
air-to-surface missiles, as well as nuclear bombs. The Tornado was the second air force plane fielded that was capable of delivering nuclear ammunition, although it was limited to delivering
B61 nuclear bombs. From 1965 through 1970,
Missile Wings 1 and
2 fielded 16
Pershing 1 missile systems with nuclear warheads under U.S. Army custody. In 1970, the system was upgraded to
Pershing 1a with 72 missiles. Although not directly affected by the 1988
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the unilaterally removed the Pershing 1a missiles from its inventory in 1991, and the missiles were destroyed. At the end of the Cold War, more than 100,000 soldiers served in the . The
United States still lends
nuclear weapons for hypothetical use by the under the nuclear sharing agreement. In 2007, 22
B61 nuclear bombs were still kept in Germany, stored at the
Büchel Air Base for use with Tornado IDS
fighter-bombers of the
Tactical Air Force Wing 33. The American nuclear weapons formerly stored at
Nörvenich Air Base,
Ramstein Air Base, and
Memmingen Air Base were all withdrawn from Germany during the mid-and-late-1990s. By international treaties between Germany and the "Big Four" powers in Europe (that formerly occupied Germany),
East Germany was a nuclear-free zone. The Big Four powers are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France, and the latter three have no nuclear weapons in Germany anymore.
Reunification After German reunification in October 1990, the aircraft and personnel of the former
GDR air force, the were taken. The remnants of the East German Air Force were placed under the newly formed
5th Air Force Division () in
Strausberg. In 1993, the division was renamed 3rd Air Force Division (), moved to
Gatow in
Berlin and in 1995 assigned to NATO. By 1990, the East German plane markings had been replaced by the Air Force Iron Cross, the first time Soviet-built aircraft had served in a NATO air force. However, as the
Luftstreitkräfte der NVA were supplied exclusively with
Eastern Bloc-produced aircraft, such as the
Sukhoi Su-17,
MiG-21,
MiG-23 and
MiG-29 fighters, most of the equipment was not compatible with the West German NATO equipment and therefore taken out of service and sold or given to new members of
NATO in Eastern Europe, such as Poland and the Baltic states. An exception to this was the Fighter Wing 3 "
Vladimir Komarov " () in Preschen Air Base. The Fighter Wing 3 flew brand new
MiG-29 fighters. On 1 June 1993, the wing was renamed Fighter
Wing 73 () and on 1 October 1994 completed its move to its new home at
Laage Air Base. The pilots of JG 73 were some of the most experienced MiG-29 pilots in the world. One of their primary duties was to serve as aggressor pilots, training other pilots in
dissimilar combat tactics. The United States sent a group of fighter pilots to Germany during the
Red October exercise to practise tactics against the aircraft they were most likely to meet in real combat. The MiG-29s of JG 73 were fully integrated into the s air defence structure and the first Soviet Bloc aircraft to be declared operational within NATO. With the introduction of the
Eurofighter Typhoon imminent, the decision was taken to withdraw the MiG-29. All German MiG-29s, save one, were sold to Poland for the symbolic price of €1 apiece. On 9 August 2004, the last MiG-29s landed in Poland where they continue to serve in the
41st Tactical Squadron of the
Polish Air Force.
Operations in the Balkans in 1999|alt= The experienced combat action for the first time since
World War II during September 1995 in the course of
Operation Deliberate Force, when six IDS Tornado
fighter-bombers, equipped with
forward looking infrared devices, and escorted by eight ECR Tornados, supported
NATO's artillery missions on positions of the
Bosnian Serbs around
Sarajevo,
Bosnia & Herzegovina. In March 1999, the became involved in a direct combat role as part of the
Kosovo War along with the other
NATO powers. This event was noted as significant in the British press with
The Sun running the headline " and the
RAF into battle side by side". The sent in
Fighter Bomber Wing 32, equipped with ECR Tornados, which flew missions to suppress enemy air defenses in and around Kosovo. These fighter-bombers were equipped with an
electronic countermeasures pod, one
AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile for self-defence, and an
AGM-88 HARM air-to-ground missile (anti-radar). The bomber wing flew 2108 hours and 446 sorties, firing 236 HARM missiles at hostile targets. No manned planes were lost in combat during this campaign.
2000s In 2005 and 2008,
F-4F Phantom II fighter planes took part in the
Baltic Air Policing operation (of NATO), and these fighters were supplemented in 2009 by units flying the
Typhoon. In 2006, to support military operations in
Afghanistan, the sent over several
Panavia Tornado reconnaissance planes from the 51st Reconnaissance Wing "Immelmann" (), stationed in
Mazar-i-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan. There have also been assorted
German Army helicopters flying from the Air Base in Mazar-i-Sharif. Also, C-160
Transall have flown
transport plane missions in and around Afghanistan. Since the 1970s, the West German (and, post-reunification, German) (as well as many other European air forces) has actively pursued the construction of European internationally made
warplanes, such as the
Panavia Tornado and the
Eurofighter Typhoon introduced into the in 2006. On 13 January 2004, the
Minister of Defence,
Peter Struck, announced major changes in the future of the
German armed forces. A major part of this announcement was a plan to cut the number of
fighter planes from 426 in early 2004, to 265 by 2015. Assuming that the plans to order 180 Typhoons is carried out in full, and all of the F-4 Phantoms are removed from service, this would cut the number of Tornado fighter-bombers down to just 85. In the past, the
Bundesmarine's naval air wing () received 112 Tornado IDS planes. However, in late 2004, the last unit of Bundesmarine Tornados was disbanded. The entire maritime combat role was assigned to the , one unit of which has had its Tornado fighters equipped to carry
Kormoran II missiles and American HARM missiles.
2010s As of 2014, a significant proportion of Germany's military aircraft was reported to be unserviceable. It was reported that around half of the Eurofighters and Tornados were not currently airworthy and that the aging
C-160 fleet remained in limited service while awaiting the introduction of the
Airbus A400M, the first of which was delivered in December 2014.
Ursula von der Leyen admitted that, due to the poor state of the s equipment, Germany was no longer able to fulfill its NATO commitments. The German Air Force was one of the founding members of the
European Air Transport Command headquartered in Eindhoven - The Netherlands and most of the Transport & Tanker assets have been transferred under EATC management. The replacement of four
Airbus A310 MRTT by the
Airbus A330 MRTT was approved in 2018 by joining the acquisition of four by the
Royal Netherlands Air Force. Future plans are the replacement of the aging
Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, which was acquired in the 1970s, by
Boeing CH-47 Chinook or
Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion. A bid for a heavy transport helicopter program or STH () was initiated in 2018. However, the award was suspended in 2020 due to the high price tag on both helicopters. The participated in the
Israeli Air Force exercise "Blue Flag", the country's largest international air combat exercise, designed to simulate extreme combat scenarios. The German Air Force's six Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets were from Tactical Air Force Squadron 73 Steinhoff from Rostock. It is the first German participation in the Blue Flag exercise. In 2018, the Air Force issued a request for information from manufacturers about four potential aircraft to replace the aging
Panavia Tornados - the
Eurofighter Typhoon,
F-15 Advanced Eagle,
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and
F-35 Lightning. In January 2019, it was announced that the F-35 Lightning had been dropped from the shortlist, with the Eurofighter Typhoon and
Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet under consideration. The German Air Force will acquire three C-130J Super Hercules Transport and three KC-130J Tanker Aircraft (delivery planned 2020–2021), which will be jointly operated with the French Air Force's two
C-130J and two KC-130J Aircraft (delivery planned 2018–19).
2020s in
Los Angeles "54+21"
Air Defender 23 livery In April 2020, the German government announced its intention to gain approval for the purchase of 30 Boeing
F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, 15
EA-18G Growlers, and 55
Eurofighter Typhoons as replacements for the
Tornado fleet. However, as of the same month such approval was unlikely to occur before 2022. The
Super Hornet was selected due to its compatibility with nuclear weapons and availability of an electronic attack version. As of March 2022, the
Super Hornet has not been certified for the
B61 Mod 12 nuclear bombs, but Dan Gillian, head of Boeing's Super Hornet program, previously stated that "We certainly think that we, working with the U.S. government, can meet the German requirements there on the [German's] timeline." In December 2021,
Air Transport Wing 63 in
Hohn Air Base and with it, the last remaining German
C-160 Transalls were disbanded, with the A400M and C-130J serving as the German tactical transport aircraft in the future. In March 2022,
German Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht announced that Germany intends to buy 35
Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets instead of
Super Hornets to replace the Tornado, the only aircraft Germany possess capable of carrying
US nuclear weapons. Another ten may be added to the initial order. Germany intends to also order 15 Eurofighter Typhoon electronic warfare aircraft in place of
Growlers. In April 2022, as a continuation of the STH program, Germany has chosen the
CH-47F Chinook to replace its aging fleet of
Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion. In August 2022, Germany sent six
Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, three
Airbus A330 MRTT tankers and four
Airbus A400M Atlas transports to take part in
Exercise Pitch Black in Australia, in the air force's largest peacetime deployment. From 12 to 23 June 2023, the German Air Force hosted
Air Defender 23, the largest exercise of NATO air forces since its creation with 25 nations and up to 10,000 troops participating. ==Structure==