Germany gets its first F-35 as Europe’s fighter plans fall apart – POLITICO

FORT WORTH, Texas — Germany received its first F-35 jet on Friday but the collapse of Europe's flagship next-generation fighter project is forcing Berlin to rethink what will follow the U.S.-built jet.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was in Texas at the Lockheed Martin factory for the ceremony. The delivery of the fighter jet was long-planned, but the death of the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System fighter jet development program earlier this year is fueling calls in Berlin to expand the initial €10 billion order of 35 American jets.

The Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II is supposed to solve Germany's immediate problem: replacing its aging Tornado fighter-bombers and preserving its role in NATO nuclear sharing while Europe developed its own next-generation fighter.