Germany approves the purchase of new fighter jets Eurofighter and F-18s.

According to news published by the Deutsche Welle website on November 5, 2020, Germany has approved the purchase of new fighter jets including Eurofighter and F-18s for an amount of €5.4 billion. The German parliament's budget committee on November 5, 2020, approved a €5.4 billion contract to buy 38 Eurofighter jets.

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The final German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon takes off from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich., heading home to Germany after being delayed for maintenance.(Picture source U.S. DoD)

According to a plan from the German Ministry of Defense, Germany would like to acquire at least 93 Eurofighter jets, along with 45 F-18s from Boeing. Decisions on the purchase of the remaining jets are expected after Germany's federal election next year.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. It was designed originally as an air superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo.

On 4 August 2003, the German Air Force accepted its first series production Eurofighter starting the replacement process of the Mikoyan MiG-29s inherited from the East German Air Force. The first Luftwaffe Wing to accept the Eurofighter was Jagdgeschwader 73 "Steinhoff" on 30 April 2004 at Rostock–Laage Airport. The second Wing was Jagdgeschwader 74 (JG74) on 25 July 2006, with four Eurofighters arriving at Neuburg Air Base, beginning the replacement of JG74's McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom IIs. According to the Military Balance 2020, the German air force has a total of 140 Eurofighter and the aircraft is also in service with Austria, Italy, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. 

The Typhoon is a highly agile aircraft both at supersonic and at low speeds, achieved through having an intentionally relaxed stability design. The aircraft is constructed of carbon-fiber composites, glass-reinforced plastic, aluminum lithium, titanium, and aluminum casting.

The Typhoon features a glass cockpit without any conventional instruments. It incorporates three full-color multi-function head-down displays (MHDDs), a wide angle head-up display (HUD) with forward-looking infrared (FLIR), a voice and hands-on throttle and stick (Voice+HOTAS), a Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS), a MIDS, a manual data-entry facility (MDEF) located on the left glareshield and a fully integrated aircraft warning system with a dedicated warnings panel (DWP).

The Eurofighter Typhoon is fitted with two Eurojet EJ200 engines, each capable of providing up to 60 kN (13,500 lbf) of dry thrust and >90 kN (20,230 lbf) with afterburners. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 11,000 kg and can fly at a maximum speed of 2,125 km/h with a maximum combat range of 1,389 km.

The Eurofighter is armed with on revolver gun Mauser BK27mm. It also has 13 hardpoints for weapon carriage, four under each wing and five under the fuselage that can be armed with a wide range of weapons including air-to-air, cruise, anti-radar, anti-armor, and anti-ship missiles.

Germany could acquire F-18 fighter jet to replace its fleet of Tornado. The first Tornado aircraft were delivered to Germany in June 1979. The Tornado is a twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany. 

The F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, carrier-capable, multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). It was designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing) and Northrop (now part of Northrop Grumman). The first low-rate initial production aircraft was delivered in December 1998, and all 12 of the first batch were delivered by November 1999.

The F/A-18 is a twin-engine, mid-wing, multimission tactical aircraft. It is highly maneuverable, due to its good thrust-to-weight ratio, digital fly-by-wire control system, and leading-edge extensions, which allow the Hornet to remain controllable at high angles of attack. The trapezoidal wing has a 20-degree sweepback on the leading edge and a straight trailing edge. The wing has full-span, leading-edge flaps and the trailing edge has single-slotted flaps and ailerons over the entire span.