German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius intends to order an additional 15 F-35 fighter jets from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab, a parliamentary source told Reuters on Monday, confirming a report by Spiegel magazine.

Planners expect the aircraft to cost about 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion), according to confidential documents prepared for parliament’s budget committee, the source said.

Another source familiar with the matter confirmed the discussions to buy additional aircraft, without citing a number. The defense ministry in Berlin declined to comment.

Germany has already ordered 35 of the US-made jets to replace its fleet of 85 ageing Tornado fighter jets, which are set to be decommissioned.

The F-35 aircraft will succeed the Tornado jets in their role of carrying US nuclear bombs stored in Germany in the event of a conflict.
In July, Berlin denied plans to acquire an additional 15 F-35 fighter jets, but a significantly expanded defense budget has since created more scope for weapons purchases.

At the time, a military source told Reuters that the idea of acquiring 15 more F-35 jets had been part of earlier discussions.

Any decision to purchase more F-35 aircraft could cause new tensions between Germany and France, which have been at odds over their struggling fighter jet project FCAS, or SCAF in French.

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