{"id":2892,"date":"2026-09-08T21:35:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T21:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/germanys-first-f-35-has-flown\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T21:35:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T21:35:45","slug":"germanys-first-f-35-has-flown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/germanys-first-f-35-has-flown\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany\u2019s First F-35 Has Flown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"German<\/p>\n

The German Air Force\u2019s first F-35A Lightning II conducted its maiden flight from Lockheed Martin\u2019s Fort Worth facilities, ahead of the official rollout later this month.<\/h2>\n

Germany\u2019s F-35 Lightning II<\/a> program achieved a new milestone with the maiden flight of the country\u2019s first F-35A on Sept. 8, 2026. The aircraft flew from Lockheed Martin\u2019s Fort Worth facilities, days after being rolled out of the assembly line and receiving its final livery.<\/p>\n

Local aviation photographer Eric Kilpatrick captured photos and videos of the historic first flight and kindly shared them with us.<\/p>\n

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Visualizza questo post su Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Un post condiviso da Eric Kilpatrick (@kpaviationphotography)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Germany\u2019s first F-35<\/h3>\n

The German Air Force\u2019s first F-35 has received the codes \u201835+01\u2019 on the fuselage, as well a full-color German flag and the Tactical Training Command\/USA (GAFTTCOM USA<\/a>) on the tail. The command oversees the German flight training in the USA, which will soon include eight German F-35s at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas.<\/p>\n

Back in June, Lockheed Martin announced that an official rollout ceremony for the first German F-35 will be held on Sept. 18.<\/p>\n

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Germany, your F-35 moment is set. \"\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea\" \"\u26a1\"<\/p>\n

On September 18, 2026, the first German F-35 will be celebrated in an official rollout ceremony \u2014 marking a bold new chapter for the Luftwaffe. pic.twitter.com\/RslNEqwIxV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 F-35 Lightning II (@thef35) June 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The company provided constant updates regarding the program, including its arrival at the final assembly station<\/a> in March, the mating with the F135 engine and the arrival into Aircraft Final Finishes for painting in August.<\/p>\n

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Power installed. Progress underway. \"\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea\"<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s first F-35 completed engine install in May, marking another major step as the aircraft moves through production. pic.twitter.com\/zKwlWGDd1p<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 F-35 Lightning II (@thef35) June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Not your average garage. \"\ud83d\udc40\"<\/p>\n

A look back at Germany\u2019s first F-35 making its way into Aircraft Final Finishes. Consider these the \u201cbefore\u201d photos. \"\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea\" pic.twitter.com\/ikVj7Ufh9U<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 F-35 Lightning II (@thef35) August 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The aircraft will be delivered in the next few months, allowing to train the initial cadre of German F-35 pilots. In approximately a year, the first F-35s will be delivered to Tactical Air Wing 33 in B\u00fcchel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The unit currently operates the Tornado, which is also used as part of NATO\u2019s Nuclear Sharing Agreement. The role will be inherited by the F-35 once in service, utilizing the B61-12 nuclear bomb<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Visualizza questo post su Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Un post condiviso da Team Luftwaffe (@team_luftwaffe)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

German Air Force and F-35<\/h3>\n

Germany selected the F-35 in 2022 after a lengthy process<\/a> which saw the \u00a0German Air Force evaluating a first plan of a Eurofighter-only fleet, then a mixed Eurofighter and Super Hornet\/Growler fleet and, in the end, a mixed Eurofighter and F-35 fleet. At the time, the deal had an estimated total cost of USD 8.4 billion.<\/p>\n

The F-35 was chosen because is considered the most suitable replacement for Germany\u2019s retiring Tornado aircraft fleet in support of NATO\u2019s nuclear sharing mission. In fact, the F\/A-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon<\/a> would have required longer times because they need to be certified for the B61 nuclear bombs.<\/p>\n

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The first German Air Force F-35A Lightning II, 35+01 MG-01, returns from the first flight. | Source: Eric Kilpatrick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Initially, Germany requested the procurement of 35 aircraft, together with a package of AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM and AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, as well as GBU-31 JDAM bombs with BLU-109 warheads and GBU-54 Laser JDAM, and AGM-158B\/B2 JASSM-ER<\/a> air-launched cruise missiles.<\/p>\n

In 2025, German media reported that the Ministry of Defense is planning to increase the fleet to 50 aircraft with the procurement of 15 more F-35s<\/a>. The information was included in documents submitted to the Bundestag\u2019s Budget Committee, with an estimated budget of \u20ac2.5 billion.<\/p>\n

The German Air Force is planning to declare an Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 2028, a year after the arrival of the fist F-35s at B\u00fcchel air base. The base is already undergoing works to prepare the infrastructure for the new fighter jet.<\/p>\n

Regarding the production, Germany decided to have its aircraft built at Lockheed Martin\u2019s production facility in Fort Worth<\/a>, Texas, instead of the Final Assembly Check Out facility in Cameri, Italy, but still using major components from across Europe, including Germany, UK and Italy.<\/p>\n

Thanks again to Eric Kilpatrick for the photos he sent us, you can find more of his work on Instagram at @kpaviationphotography<\/a> and X at @KpAviationPhoto<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The German Air Force\u2019s first F-35A Lightning II conducted its maiden flight from Lockheed Martin\u2019s Fort Worth facilities, ahead of the official rollout later this month. Germany\u2019s F-35 Lightning II program achieved a new milestone with the maiden flight of the country\u2019s first F-35A on Sept. 8, 2026. The aircraft flew from Lockheed Martin\u2019s Fort […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}