BERLIN (Reuters) - Military aircraft engine maker MTU said on Thursday it hopes for "at least a maintenance deal" as Germany replaces its ageing Tornado fighter jet fleet with F-35 steel bombers from Lockheed Martin.
(This Jun. 23 story refiles to correct typographical error in lead)
BERLIN (Reuters) – Military aircraft engine maker MTU said on Thursday it hopes for “at least a maintenance deal” as Germany replaces its ageing Tornado fighter jet fleet with F-35 stealth bombers from Lockheed Martin.
MTU, which is working with the F-35 engine supplier Pratt & Whitney, is also prepared to supply spare parts, Chief Program Officer Michael Schreyoegg told journalists at the ILA Berlin Air Show trade fair.
Lockheed Martin said at the trade fair on Wednesday it could deliver the first fighter jets to Germany in 2026 depending on the outcome of talks with the German government, which had set 2025-2030 as the timeframe for the overhaul.
According to the U.S. manufacturer’s vice president of F-35 business development, J.R. McDonald, more German companies are looking into how they could get involved by supplying parts or providing maintenance.
(Reporting by Zuzanna Szymanska and Christina Amann; editing by Barbara Lewis)
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: