| German Air Force | |
|---|---|
| Luftwaffe | |
 | |
| Founded | 9 January 1956; 69 years ago (1956-01-09) |
| Country |  Germany |
| Type | Air force |
| Role | Aerial warfare |
| Size |
|
| Part of | Federal Defence Forces |
| Air Force Command | Gatow |
| Nickname | Team Luftwaffe[2] |
| Mottos |
|
| Engagements | |
| Website | luftwaffe |
| Commanders | |
| Inspector of the Air Force | GeneralleutnantHolger Neumann[3] |
| Deputy Inspector of the Air Force | GeneralleutnantLutz Kohlhaus[4] |
| Chief of Staff | Generalmajor Wolfgang Ohl |
| Notable commanders |
|
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Fin flash |  |
| Pilot's Flying Badge |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | Tornado IDS |
| Electronic warfare | Tornado ECR |
| Fighter | Eurofighter Typhoon,Tornado IDS |
| Helicopter | CH-53,H145M,AS532 |
| Trainer | Grob G-120,T-6 Texan II,T-38 Talon |
| Transport | A400M,Global Express 5000,A319,A350,A321 |
| Tanker | A400M |
TheGerman Air Force (German:Luftwaffe,lit. 'air force'',pronounced[ˈlʊftvafə]ⓘ) is theaerial warfare branch of theBundeswehr, the armed forces ofGermany. The German Air Force (as part of theBundeswehr) was founded in 1956 during the era of theCold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces ofWest Germany. After thereunification of West andEast Germany in 1990, it integrated parts of theair force of the former German Democratic Republic, which itself had been founded in 1956 as part of theNational People's Army. There is no organizational continuity between the current Luftwaffe of the Bundeswehr and the formerLuftwaffe of the Wehrmacht founded in 1935, which was completely disbanded in 1945/46 afterWorld War II. The termLuftwaffe that is used for both the historic and the current German air force is the German-language generic designation of any air force.
The commander of the German Air Force isLieutenant General Holger Neumann. As of 2015, the German Air Force uses eleven air bases, two of which host no flying units. Furthermore, the Air Force has a presence at three civil airports. In 2012, the German Air Force had an authorized strength of 28,475 active airmen and 4,914 reservists.[5]
AfterWorld War II, German aviation was severely curtailed, and military aviation was completely forbidden after theAllied Control Commission disbanded the Nazi-eraLuftwaffe in August 1946. This changed in 1955 when West Germany joinedNATO, as the Western Allies believed that Germany was needed to counter the increasing military threat posed by theSoviet Union and itsWarsaw Pact allies. Therefore, on 9 January 1956, a new German Air Force calledLuftwaffe was founded as a branch of the newBundeswehr.
Many well-known fighter pilots of theWehrmacht'sLuftwaffe joined the new post-war air force and underwent refresher training in the US before returning to West Germany to upgrade on the latest U.S.-supplied hardware. These includedErich Hartmann,Gerhard Barkhorn,Günther Rall andJohannes Steinhoff. Steinhoff became commander-in-chief of theLuftwaffe, with Rall as his immediate successor. Another pilot of World War II,Josef Kammhuber, also made a significant career in the post-warLuftwaffe, retiring in 1962 as Chief Inspector of the Air Force (Inspekteur der Luftwaffe).
Despite the partial reliance of the new air force on airmen who had served in theWehrmacht's air arm, there was no organizational continuity between the old and the newLuftwaffe. This is in line with the policy of theBundeswehr on the whole, which does not consider itself a successor of theWehrmacht and does not follow the traditions of any other previous German military organization.
The first volunteers of theLuftwaffe arrived at theNörvenich Air Base in January 1956. In the same year, theLuftwaffe was given with its first aircraft, the US-madeRepublic F-84 Thunderstreak. At first, theLuftwaffe was divided into two operational commands, one in Northern Germany, aligned with the British-ledSecond Allied Tactical Air Force, and the other in Southern Germany, aligned with the American-ledFourth Allied Tactical Air Force.
In 1957, theLuftwaffe took command of the Army Air Defence Troops located inRendsburg and began the expansion of its own air defense missile capabilities. The first squadron to be declared operational was theAir Transport Wing 61 atErding Air Base, followed by the31st Fighter-Bomber Squadron atBüchel Air Base. In 1958, theLuftwaffe received its first conscripts. In 1959, theLuftwaffe declared the 11th Missile Group inKaufbeuren armed withMGM-1 Matador surface-to-surface tactical nuclear cruise missiles operational. The same yearFighter Wing 71 (Jagdgeschwader 71) equipped withCanadair CL-13[6] fighters became operational atAhlhorner Heide Air Base. All aircraft sported—and continue to sport—the Iron Cross on the fuselage, harking back to thepre-March 1918 days of World War I, while the national flag of West Germany isdisplayed on the tail.
In 1963, theLuftwaffe saw its first major reorganization. The two operational Air Force Group Commands – Command North and Command South were both split into two mixed Air Force divisions containing flying and air defense units and one Support division. Additionally, a 7th Air Force division was raised inSchleswig-Holstein containing flying units, missile units, support units, and the German Navy'snaval aviation and placed under command ofAllied Forces Baltic Approaches.
In 1960, theLuftwaffe received its firstLockheed F-104 Starfighter jets. The Starfighter remained in service for the entire duration of the Cold War, with the last being taken out of service in 1991. TheLuftwaffe received 916 Starfighters, 292 of which crashed, resulting in the deaths of 116 pilots. The disastrous service record of the Starfighter led to theStarfighter crisis in 1966 as a reaction to 27 Starfighter crashes with 17 casualties in 1965 alone. The West German public referred to the Starfighter as theWitwenmacher (widow-maker),fliegender Sarg (flying coffin),Fallfighter (falling fighter) andErdnagel (tent peg, literally "ground nail").
On 25 August 1966, the German Defence MinisterKai-Uwe von Hassel relieved the Chief Inspector of the Air ForceGeneralleutnantWerner Panitzki, and transferred ColonelErich Hartmann, commanding officer of the 71st Fighter Squadron, as both had publicly criticized the acquisition of the Starfighter as a "purely political decision". On 2 September 1966,Johannes Steinhoff, withGünther Rall as deputy, became the new Chief Inspector of the Air Force. Steinhoff and his deputy Günther Rall noted that the non-German F-104s proved much safer. The Americans blamed the high loss rate of theLuftwaffe F-104s on the extremely low-level and aggressive flying of German pilots rather than any faults in the aircraft.[7] Steinhoff and Rall went to America to learn to fly the Starfighter under Lockheed instruction and noted some specifics in the training (a lack of mountain and foggy-weather training), combined with handling capabilities (rapidly initiated, high G turns) of the aircraft that could cause accidents. Steinhoff and Rall, therefore, changed the training regimen for the F-104 pilots, and the accident rates fell to those comparable or better than other air forces. They also brought about the high level of training and professionalism seen today throughout theLuftwaffe, and the start of a strategic direction forLuftwaffe pilots to engage in tactical and combat training outside of Germany. However, the F-104 never lived down its reputation as a "widow-maker", and was replaced by theLuftwaffe with theMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter and thePanavia Tornado fighter-bomber in many units much earlier than in other national air forces.
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On Steinhoff's initiative, theLuftwaffe opened the German Air Force Command USA/Canada (Deutsches Luftwaffenkommando USA/Kanada) inFort Bliss, where theLuftwaffe trained its missile and air defense troops, and pilots received their basic training. At the same time, theLuftwaffe opened a Tactical Training Command inBeja, Portugal, where pilots were trained inClose Air Support missions.
Between 1967 and 1970, theLuftwaffe undertook a major reorganization of its forces. The two operational commands were disbanded and the four mixed Air Force divisions were divided into two flying divisions and two air defense divisions. The remainder of the units were divided into functional commands:
Over the next decade, theLuftwaffe received large amounts of new equipment, including in 1968 the firstC-160 Transall transport planes, in 1974 theF-4 Phantom II fighter-bombers, in 1978 the firstAlpha Jet Version A light attack jets and in 1979 the first of 212Panavia Tornado fighters.
In 1986, the air defense forces began to replace theirNike Hercules missile systems with state-of-the-art surface-to-air missile systems: first to arrive was theMIM-104 Patriot system, followed one year later byRoland short-range missile system.
Germany is participating inNATO'snuclear sharing concept. Nuclear sharing is a concept that involves member countries withoutnuclear weapons of their own in the planning for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO, and in particular, provides for the armed forces of these countries to be involved in delivering these weapons in the event of their use.
Soon after its founding, the German Air Force began to train with the USSeventeenth Air Force in handling, arming, and delivering nuclear weapons. At first, the F-104 Starfighter was intended to be used solely as a nuclear delivery platform, armed with nuclearair-to-air andair-to-surface missiles, as well as nuclear bombs. The Tornado was the second air force plane fielded that was capable of delivering nuclear ammunition, although it was limited to deliveringB61 nuclear bombs.
From 1965 through 1970,Missile Wings 1 and2 fielded 16Pershing 1 missile systems with nuclear warheads under U.S. Army custody. In 1970, the system was upgraded toPershing 1a with 72 missiles. Although not directly affected by the 1988Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, theLuftwaffe unilaterally removed the Pershing 1a missiles from its inventory in 1991, and the missiles were destroyed. At the end of the Cold War, more than 100,000 soldiers served in theLuftwaffe.
TheUnited States still lendsnuclear weapons for hypothetical use by theLuftwaffe under the nuclear sharing agreement. In 2007, 22B61 nuclear bombs were still kept in Germany, stored at theBüchel Air Base for use with Tornado IDSfighter-bombers of theTactical Air Force Wing 33. The American nuclear weapons formerly stored atNörvenich Air Base,Ramstein Air Base, andMemmingen Air Base were all withdrawn from Germany during the mid-and-late-1990s.
By international treaties between Germany and the "Big Four" powers in Europe (that formerly occupied Germany),East Germany was a nuclear-free zone. The Big Four powers are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France, and the latter three have no nuclear weapons in Germany anymore.
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After German reunification in October 1990, the aircraft and personnel of the formerGDR air force, theLuftstreitkräfte der NVA were taken. The remnants of the East German Air Force were placed under the newly formed5th Air Force Division (5. Luftwaffendivision) inStrausberg. In 1993, the division was renamed 3rd Air Force Division (3. Luftwaffendivision), moved toGatow inBerlin and in 1995 assigned to NATO. By 1990, the East German plane markings had been replaced by the Air Force Iron Cross, the first time Soviet-built aircraft had served in a NATO air force. However, as theLuftstreitkräfte der NVA were supplied exclusively withEastern Bloc-produced aircraft, such as theSukhoi Su-17,MiG-21,MiG-23 andMiG-29 fighters, most of the equipment was not compatible with the West German NATO equipment and therefore taken out of service and sold or given to new members ofNATO in Eastern Europe, such as Poland and the Baltic states.
An exception to this was the Fighter Wing 3 "Vladimir Komarov " (Jagdfliegergeschwader 3 " Vladimir Komarov ") in Preschen Air Base. The Fighter Wing 3 flew brand newMiG-29 fighters. On 1 June 1993, the wing was renamed FighterWing 73 (Jagdgeschwader 73) and on 1 October 1994 completed its move to its new home atLaage Air Base. The pilots of JG 73 were some of the most experienced MiG-29 pilots in the world. One of their primary duties was to serve as aggressor pilots, training other pilots indissimilar combat tactics. The United States sent a group of fighter pilots to Germany during theRed October exercise to practise tactics against the aircraft they were most likely to meet in real combat. The MiG-29s of JG 73 were fully integrated into theLuftwaffe's air defence structure and the first Soviet Bloc aircraft to be declared operational within NATO.[8] With the introduction of theEurofighter Typhoon imminent, the decision was taken to withdraw the MiG-29. All German MiG-29s, save one, were sold to Poland for the symbolic price of €1 apiece. On 9 August 2004, the last MiG-29s landed in Poland where they continue to serve in the41st Tactical Squadron of thePolish Air Force.
TheLuftwaffe experienced combat action for the first time sinceWorld War II during September 1995[9] in the course ofOperation Deliberate Force, when six IDS Tornadofighter-bombers, equipped withforward looking infrared devices, and escorted by eight ECR Tornados, supportedNATO's artillery missions on positions of theBosnian Serbs aroundSarajevo,Bosnia & Herzegovina.[10][11]
In March 1999, theLuftwaffe became involved in a direct combat role as part of theKosovo War along with the otherNATO powers. This event was noted as significant in the British press withThe Sun running the headline "Luftwaffe and theRAF into battle side by side".[12] TheLuftwaffe sent inFighter Bomber Wing 32, equipped with ECR Tornados, which flew missions to suppress enemy air defenses in and around Kosovo.
These fighter-bombers were equipped with anelectronic countermeasures pod, oneAIM-9 Sidewinderair-to-air missile for self-defence, and anAGM-88 HARMair-to-ground missile (anti-radar). The bomber wing flew 2108 hours and 446 sorties, firing 236 HARM missiles at hostile targets. No mannedLuftwaffe planes were lost in combat during this campaign.[13]
In 2005 and 2008,LuftwaffeF-4FPhantom IIfighter planes took part in theBaltic Air Policing operation (of NATO), and these fighters were supplemented in 2009 by units flying theTyphoon.[14][15]
In 2006, to support military operations inAfghanistan, theLuftwaffe sent over severalPanavia Tornadoreconnaissance planes from the 51st Reconnaissance Wing "Immelmann" (Aufklärungsgeschwader 51 "Immelmann"), stationed inMazar-i-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan.[16]There have also been assortedGerman Armyhelicopters flying from theLuftwaffe Air Base in Mazar-i-Sharif. Also,Luftwaffe C-160Transall have flowntransport plane missions in and around Afghanistan.
Since the 1970s, the West German (and, post-reunification, German)Luftwaffe (as well as many other European air forces) has actively pursued the construction of European internationally madewarplanes, such as thePanavia Tornado and theEurofighter Typhoon introduced into theLuftwaffe in 2006.
On 13 January 2004, theMinister of Defence,Peter Struck, announced major changes in the future of theGerman armed forces. A major part of this announcement was a plan to cut the number offighter planes from 426 in early 2004, to 265 by 2015. Assuming that the plans to order 180 Typhoons is carried out in full, and all of the F-4 Phantoms are removed from service, this would cut the number of Tornado fighter-bombers down to just 85.[17]
In the past, theBundesmarine's naval air wing (Marineflieger) received 112 Tornado IDS planes. However, in late 2004, the last unit of Bundesmarine Tornados was disbanded. The entire maritime combat role was assigned to theLuftwaffe, one unit of which has had its Tornado fighters equipped to carryKormoran II missiles and American HARM missiles.
As of 2014, a significant proportion of Germany's military aircraft was reported to be unserviceable. It was reported that around half of the Eurofighters and Tornados were not currently airworthy and that the agingC-160 fleet remained in limited service while awaiting the introduction of theAirbus A400M, the first of which was delivered in December 2014.[18]Ursula von der Leyen admitted that, due to the poor state of theBundeswehr's equipment, Germany was no longer able to fulfill its NATO commitments.[19]
The German Air Force was one of the founding members of theEuropean Air Transport Command headquartered in Eindhoven - The Netherlands and most of the Transport & Tanker assets have been transferred under EATC management. The replacement of fourAirbus A310 MRTT by theAirbus A330 MRTT was approved in 2018 by joining the acquisition of four by theRoyal Netherlands Air Force.
Future plans are the replacement of the agingSikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, which was acquired in the 1970s, byBoeing CH-47 Chinook orSikorsky CH-53K King Stallion. A bid for a heavy transport helicopter program or STH (Schwerer Transporthubschrauber) was initiated in 2018. However, the award was suspended in 2020 due to the high price tag on both helicopters.[20]
TheLuftwaffe participated in theIsraeli Air Force exercise "Blue Flag", the country's largest international air combat exercise, designed to simulate extreme combat scenarios. The German Air Force's six Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets were from Tactical Air Force Squadron 73 Steinhoff from Rostock. It is the first German participation in the Blue Flag exercise.[21]
In 2018, the Air Force issued a request for information from manufacturers about four potential aircraft to replace the agingPanavia Tornados - theEurofighter Typhoon,F-15 Advanced Eagle,F/A-18E/F Super Hornet andF-35 Lightning.[22] In January 2019, it was announced that the F-35 Lightning had been dropped from the shortlist, with the Eurofighter Typhoon andBoeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet under consideration.
The German Air Force will acquire three C-130J Super Hercules Transport and three KC-130J Tanker Aircraft (delivery planned 2020–2021),[23] which will be jointly operated with the French Air Force's twoC-130J and two KC-130J Aircraft (delivery planned 2018–19).[24]
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In April 2020, the German government announced its intention to gain approval for the purchase of 30 BoeingF/A-18E/F Super Hornets, 15EA-18G Growlers, and 55Eurofighter Typhoons as replacements for theTornado fleet.[25] However, as of the same month such approval was unlikely to occur before 2022.[26] TheSuper Hornet was selected due to its compatibility with nuclear weapons and availability of an electronic attack version.[27] As of March 2022, theSuper Hornet has not been certified for theB61 Mod 12 nuclear bombs, but Dan Gillian, head of Boeing's Super Hornet program, previously stated that "We certainly think that we, working with the U.S. government, can meet the German requirements there on the [German's] timeline."[28]
In December 2021,Air Transport Wing 63 inHohn Air Base and with it, the last remaining GermanC-160 Transalls were disbanded,[29] with the A400M and C-130J serving as the German tactical transport aircraft in the future.
In March 2022,German Minister of DefenceChristine Lambrecht announced that Germany intends to buy 35Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets instead ofSuper Hornets to replace the Tornado, the only aircraft Germany possess capable of carryingUS nuclear weapons.[30] Another ten may be added to the initial order.[31] Germany intends to also order 15 Eurofighter Typhoon electronic warfare aircraft in place ofGrowlers.[32]
In April 2022, as a continuation of the STH program, Germany has chosen theCH-47F Chinook to replace its aging fleet ofSikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion.[20] According to Reuters report, Germany will purchase 60 CH-47Fs with a contract worth around€5 billion (US$5.40 billion).[33]
In August 2022, Germany sent sixEurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, threeAirbus A330 MRTT tankers and fourAirbus A400M Atlas transports to take part inExercise Pitch Black in Australia, in the air force's largest peacetime deployment.[34]
From 12 to 23 June 2023, the German Air Force hostedAir Defender 23, the largest exercise of NATO air forces since its creation with 25 nations and up to 10,000 troops participating.[35]
The current commander of the German Air Force isLieutenant General Holger Neumann. TheInspector of the Air Force (Inspekteur der Luftwaffe) is the commander ofAir Force Command (Kommando Luftwaffe), a body created in 2013 by the merger of theAir Force Office (Luftwaffenamt), German Air Staff (Führungsstab der Luftwaffe), andAir Force Forces Command (Luftwaffenführungskommando). Similar to theAir Staff of theUnited States Air Force, the German Air Force Command is a force-providing command, not an operational command. The Air Force Command is tasked with ensuring the combat readiness of the German Air Force combat units, which during operations would either be commanded by a NATO command or the Joint Operations Command of theBundeswehr. The Air Force command directly controls three higher commands.[36]
The creation of the Air Force Command was part of a reorganization of theBundeswehr as a whole, announced byThomas de Maizière in 2011, which also involved the Air Force shrinking to 23,000 soldiers and thus undergoing major restructuring at all levels. In addition to the higher command authorities, the three air divisions, the Air Force Training Command, and Air Force Weapon Systems Command were disbanded. The three surface-to-air missile units will merge into a single wing inHusum in Northern Germany. The wing fields 14MIM-104 Patriot and 4MANTIS systems. The three air transport wings will be merged into a single wing based atWunstorf Air Base, which will field 40A400M Atlas transport planes. TheLuftwaffe will field three Multirole Eurofighter Wings, each with two squadrons for a total of 143Eurofighter Typhoon.[37] A fighter-bomber wing fieldingPanavia Tornado IDS planes remains in service atBüchel Air Base. TheReconnaissance Wing 51 will remain in service atSchleswig Air Base and add onedrone squadron to itsPanavia Tornado ECR squadron.[38]
TheKommando Luftwaffe has two main elements subordinate to it:
Individual Air Force units are either part of the Air Force Operational Forces Command or the Support Forces Command. They only fall under the command of the Air Operations Command when on deployment or attached to EU or NATO organizations.
In 2021 also Space Component Command (de:Weltraumkommando der Bundeswehr) was created.
The main subordinate elements of the Air Operations Command are:
The main subordinate elements of the Air Force Operational Forces Command are:
Directly subordinated institutions:
Subordinated flying units:
Subordinated ground based units:
Subordinated support units:
In light of the destroyed infrastructure of West Germany post–World War II, the restrictions on aircraft production placed on Germany and the later restrictive flying zones available for training pilots, the reconstructedLuftwaffe trained most of its pilots tactically away from Germany, mainly in the United States and Canada where most of its aircraft were sourced.
During the 1960s and 1970s, a very large number ofLuftwaffe jet crashes—theLuftwaffe suffered a 36 percent crash rate forF-84F Thunderstreaks and an almost 30 percent loss ofF-104 Starfighters—created considerable public demand for movingLuftwaffe combat training centers away from Germany.
As a result, theLuftwaffe set up two tactical training centers: one, like those of many of theNATO forces, at theRoyal Canadian Air Force base atGoose Bay; and the second in a unique partnership with the United States Air Force atHolloman Air Force Base inNew Mexico (F-104 pilots had already been trained atLuke Air Force Base,Arizona, since 1964). Both facilities provide access to large unpopulated areas, where tactical and combat training can take place without danger to large populations.
On 1 May 1996, theLuftwaffe established the German Air Force Tactical Training Center (TTC) in concert with theUnited States Air Force20th Fighter Squadron atHolloman Air Force Base inNew Mexico, which provides aircrew training in the F-4F Phantom II. The TTC served as the parent command for two German aircrew training squadrons. The F-4 Training Squadron oversaw all German F-4 student personnel affairs and provided German instructor pilots to cooperate in the contracted F-4 training program provided by the U.S. Air Force (20th Fighter Squadron). A second TTC unit, the Tornado Training Squadron, provided academic and tactical flying training, by German air force instructors, for GermanTornado aircrews.
The first contingent of Tornado aircraft arrived at Holloman in March 1996. More than 300 German air force personnel were permanently assigned at Holloman to the TTC, the only unit of its kind in the United States. The German Air Force Flying Training Center was activated on 31 March 1996, with German Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Portz and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan present. TheLuftwaffe had stationed up to 800 personnel at Holloman for training exercises, due to limited training space in Europe.
In September 2004, theLuftwaffe announced a reduction in its training program by about 20%. By the end of 2006, 650Luftwaffe personnel and 25 Tornado aircraft were assigned to Holloman.
On 12 April 2016, theMinistry of Defence decided to close the TTC by 2019 to consolidate the reduced operation of remaining Tornado aircraft in Germany. Approximately 450 personnel and 14 Tornado aircraft were stationed Holloman at the time.[43] Training for the Tornado transitioned to theTactical Air Force Wing 51 "Immelmann" atSchleswig Air Base and the remaining Air Force Tactical Training Command USA relocated toSheppard Air Force Base by December 2019.[41][44][45]
In 2020, the Air Force uses 12 air bases, four of which host no flying units. Furthermore, the Air Force has a presence at three civilian airports including Berlin Tegel airport which was closed in November 2020:
Eurofighter
Tornado IDS
Tornado ECR & IDS
A400M Atlas
C-160 Transall
CH-53 Sea Stallion
VIP Transport
Air Force Regiment
Air Defence Missile Wing 1
Bases without flying unitsIn 2012, the Air Force had an authorized strength of 44,565 active airmen/women and 4,914 reservists.[5] The civil personnel within the Air Force is being reduced to 5,950 officials and employees. Most of the civilian employees work in maintenance and the Air Force Fire Department. On 20 September 2011 defense ministerThomas de Maizière announced that the Air Force would shrink to 23,000 airmen/women.[51]
TheLuftwaffe has set up a total of 5 training institutions, namely theOffizierschule der Luftwaffe,Unteroffizierschule der Luftwaffe,Luftwaffenausbildungsbataillon,Fachschule der Luftwaffe andTechnische Ausbildungszentrum der Luftwaffe, for training catering both personnel in active service and civilians willing to enter theLuftwaffe.[52]
Originally German Air Force aircraft carried anIron Cross—appearing to be closely modeled on that used by the 1916–17 eraImperial GermanLuftstreitkräfte through the spring of 1918, but no longer have the white border around the crosses' "ends" (thusly resembling the orthogonal white "flanks" of the earlier, 1918–1945 eraBalkenkreuz national marking)—as an identifying feature on all four wing positions and on both sides on the rear of thefuselage and a smalltricolor German flagpainted on the vertical stabilizer. Each aircraft also carried a serial number consisting of two letters, which identified the service and combat wing, followed by three numbers identifying the squadron and the number of the plane within the squadron, almost graphically resembling the USAF's ownbuzz numbers of the same period.
This system was changed in 1968. The large Iron Cross and serial numbers have since been replaced on all aircraft by a four-digit registration code, marked on the aircraft somewhat in the manner of the earlier alphanumericGeschwaderkennung combat wing code charactersused by their World War II predecessor—separated by an Iron Cross in the middle: the first pair of numbers identify the type of aircraft and the second pair are sequential for each type. For example, theTornado IDS of the Air Force are numbered from 4301 to 4622, while the Tornado ECR of the Air Force is numbered from 4623 to 4657 and the numbers from 3001 to 3399 are being used for theEurofighter. The 4-digit serial number is often portrayed in print with a "+" between the two pairs of numbers as a placeholder to indicate where the Iron Cross would separate the numbers when painted on the aircraft, for example the new A350 fleet (1001 to 1003) can be written as "10+01", etc.
Theranks of the Air Force are identical to the ranks of theGerman Army. The Air Force field dress is the same as the army field dress. Thedress uniform of the Air Force is dark blue with gold-yellow wings ascollar patches. As headdress a dark blueside cap or dark bluepeaked cap can be worn. Members of theGerman Air Force Regiment wear a dark blueberet.
The rank insignia ofcommissioned officers.
| NATO code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 German Air Force[53] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
| General | Generalleutnant | Generalmajor | Brigadegeneral | Oberst | Oberstleutnant | Major | Stabshauptmann | Hauptmann | Oberleutnant | Leutnant | ||||||||||||||
The rank insignia ofnon-commissioned officers andenlisted personnel.
As per October 2025
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NOTE: Germany is participating in theMRTT program for theiraerial refueling needs, along with contracting Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen to provideH145rotorcraft training[81][82]
As of August 2025, Germany plans to invest €350 billion in new equipment through 2041. These investments come on top of the special fund of €100 billion. This includes the following estimated budgets:[83]
Hundreds of books, magazines and articles have been written about the Luftwaffe. A select few are listed here.
| Leadership | |
|---|---|
| Equipment | |
| Ranks and insignia | |
| International | |
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| National | |
