Alliance defense
Conversion for new nuclear jets is 800 million euros more expensive
Germany buys new US fighter aircraft for atomic deterrence. With the necessary renovation of the airfield in the Eifel, there is now a cost explosion.
The conversion of the Büchel military airport in the Eifel for the US starcap jets ordered by the Bundeswehr for the nuclear deterrence will be around 800 million euros more expensive than planned. The Department of Defense confirmed to the German Press Agency on request that the costs, originally estimated at 1.2 billion euros, are expected to increase to around two billion euros. The ARD had previously reported about it.
“The underlying calculation includes all the foreseeable effort positions and cost factors including risk supplements, but due to the special challenges of the project, it cannot be a final price,” said a ministry spokeswoman. Further price increases, for example due to personnel reinforcements to comply with the “extremely ambitious temporal specifications”, cannot be ruled out. “The total costs will be determined after the 2027 project.”
35 fighter jets ordered in the USA
The federal government has ordered 35 F-35 fighter jets in the USA. The aircraft are to be bought primarily for Germany’s participation in the nuclear deterrent of NATO. In an emergency, they should use the US atomic bombs stored in Büchel.
At the end of June, the Ministry had admitted that the costs would increase by a three -digit million amount. In August, a contract with the general contractor is to be signed via the new framework. The cost explosion is justified with the high security requirements in connection with the high time pressure.
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“Enormous security specifications” of the USA
At the beginning of the project, it was not an estimated which additional costs would cause the “enormous security requirements that the United States would have made in the course of the process”, the ministry spokeswoman said. “A delay in the project to prevent higher expenses was and is not an option because the timeline for the stationing of the F-35 from 2027 cannot be moved.” In addition, according to her, a twice as long would increase the costs “in the normal procedure”.
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
