Germany will buy 35 U.S. F-35 fighter jets to replace its ageing Tornado, it said on Monday, announcing a first big defense deal since Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a 100-billion-euro upgrade to the military in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The move appeared to be part of a tectonic shift in German security policy, including a pledge to reach NATO’s 2% target for defense spending, after years of accusations that Germany was too dovish towards Moscow in compensation for its Nazi past.
