Germany receives first F-35A

Aircraft 35+01 was officially presented to the German Ministry of Defence during a ceremony at the Fort Worth production facility in Texas on 18 September 2026. (Lockheed Martin)

Lockheed Martin has presented to Germany its first F-35A Lightning II, with the Bundeswehr taking formal ownership of aircraft 35+01 during a ceremony at the manufacturer's Fort Worth production facility in the US state of Texas.

The milestone on 18 September 2026 took place days after the airframe's first flight at the same location on 8 September 2026. This and seven other of the first aircraft to roll off the line will now be delivered to Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for pilot training. Deliveries to Büchel Air Base in Germany will begin in the third quarter of 2027 and run through to 2029, at which time full operating capability will be declared.

“This is the beginning of a new era for the German Air Force: the new F-35A fighter jet is the world's most advanced combat aircraft,” said Boris Pistorius, German Minister of Defence, said at the event, adding, “Consequently, the F-35A provides a decisive key capability – for the German Air Force and for the whole of NATO. Together with 19 other nations, we are putting transatlantic cooperation into practice, with common standards, technology and procedures. It is precisely this interoperability that opens up numerous opportunities for training, exercises, and operations, making us stronger together.”

Speaking to Janes and other attendees at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2025 held in Rome from 4 to 6 November 2025, Colonel Klaus Wuggazer, co-ordination officer F-35A at the Federal Ministry of Defence (Bundesministerium der Verteidigung: BMVg) spelt out the Luftwaffe's planned transition of the Panavia Tornado's capabilities to the F-35A.