According to the Federal Ministry of Defense, the three new German government aircraft of the type Airbus A350 may no longer be equipped with missile defense systems. As the ministry announced on Sunday in Berlin in response to a media report, corresponding systems for the aircraft type are “currently not available on the market”.
Should they be produced in the future, retrofitting would entail high costs in the hundreds of millions and long downtimes for the aircraft. However, the decision has not yet been made.
The Ministry of Defense pointed out that the “very well protected” models of the Airbus A400M military version would be used for trips by members of the government to risk regions and areas of operation of the Bundeswehr. The so-called “White Fleet” of the Bundeswehr’s flight readiness service, which consists of civilian aircraft, is not used.
As the ministry further explained on Sunday, it submitted the proposal to the houses of the main users of the aviation readiness service not to equip the newly purchased A350 with so-called self-protection systems. These are Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens).
“Graduated concepts” conceivable
Their answers are still pending and will later be evaluated together with the Air Force Inspector. “Graduated concepts” with conversion are also conceivable, the ministry emphasized.
The “Bild am Sonntag” initially reported on the considerations. CDU defense politician Ingo Gädechens criticized the process in the newspaper. It is a “crazy plan” and there is currently “war again” in Europe.
The three A350s for the Bundeswehr’s flight readiness were ordered as successors to the aging predecessor models, which made a name for themselves due to the increasing number of breakdowns and failures. Two A350s have already been handed over and are in service, with a third model to come.
The older government planes had missile defense systems. According to “Bild am Sonntag”, the equipment of the new planes with the appropriate technology was originally planned. (afp)
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