# List of active equipment of the German Air Force

This list intends to give an accurate detail list of the equipment currently fielded by the German Air Force.

## Current inventory
### Aircraft operated by the Luftwaffe

| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
| Combat aircraft |||||||
| Eurofighter Typhoon | Germany  Italy  Spain  UK | Interceptor | T1 | 33 | |
| Eurofighter Typhoon | Germany  Italy  Spain  UK | multirole | T2 | 79 | |
| Eurofighter Typhoon | Germany  Italy  Spain  UK | multirole | T3 | 31 | |
| Panavia Tornado | Germany  Italy  UK | multirole | IDS | 68 | |
| Panavia Tornado | Germany  Italy  UK | SEAD / ECR (Electronic Combat Reconnaissance) | ECR | 21 | |
| Military Transport / Aerial refueling |||||||
| Airbus A400M | Europe | tactical airlifter / aerial refueling | A400M | 40 | 13 additional still on order |
| Lockheed Martin C-130J | United States | tactical airlifter | C-130J-30 | 3 | |
| Lockheed Martin C-130J | United States | tactical airlifter / aerial refueling | KC-130J | 3 | |
| Helicopter |||||||
| Airbus Helicopters H145 | Germany | light utility | EC645 T2 LUH SOF | 16 | German Air Force as a special forces transport helicopter and has been configured to support their missions both during the day and night. Flown by Special Forces Command |
| Eurocopter AS532 | France | VIP transport | AS532 U2 | 3 | |
| Sikorsky CH-53 | United States | transport | CH-53G | 66 | |
| Trainer aircraft |||||||
| Grob G 120 | Germany | basic trainer | G 120A / G 120TP | 6 / 5 | / |
| Northrop T-38 | United States | jet trainer | T-38C | 46 | |
| UAVs |||||||
| IAI Heron | Israel | surveillance | Heron 1 | 5 | to be replaced by Heron TP |
| IAI Heron | Israel | surveillance and combat | Heron TP (Eitan) | 5 | 5 on order |
| Transport - "Grey Fleet" |||||||
| Airbus A321neo | Europe | Transport and MEDEVAC | A321LR | 2 | |
| Transport - "White Fleet" |||||||
| Airbus A319 | Europe | VIP transport | A319CJ | 2 | Passenger and material transport, strategic patient air transport or flights within the framework of arms control |
| Airbus A319 | Europe | Open Skies | A319OH | 1 | The new observation platform OH ("Offener Himmel" = "Open Sky") is equipped with electro-optical sensors, an EO-S/digital camera and an infrared sensor (IR-S) based on an A319CJ from Lufthansa Technik. |
| Airbus A321 | Europe | VIP, troops transport | A321-200 | 1 | |
| Airbus A350 | Europe | VIP, troops transport | ACJ350 | 3 | |
| Bombardier Global 5000 | Canada | VIP transport | Global 5000 | 3 | |
| Bombardier Global 6000 | Canada | VIP transport | Global 6000 | 3 | |

### Aircraft provided by contractors

| Aircraft | Origin | Contractor | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
| Aircraft ||||||||
| PZL M28 Skytruck (with underbelly luggage pod) | Poland  Ukraine | PD Sicherheit | Paratrooper training | — | 3 | |
| Helicopters ||||||||
| Airbus H145 | Germany | NHV [de] | Training helicopter | H145 D2 | 1 | Used to train KSK pilots. |
| Airbus H145 | Germany | NHV [de] | Training helicopter | H145 D3 | 2 | Used to train KSK pilots. |

### International collaborations with the Luftwaffe participation

| Aircraft | Origin | Operator | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
| Airbus A330 | Europe | MMF (Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet) Belgium Czechia Germany Luxembourg Netherlands Norway | Tanker Cargo transport Passenger transport Medical evacuation | A330 MRTT | 9 | 1 additional left on order, the last one to be delivered in 2026 |
| Boeing E-3 Sentry | United States | NAEW&CF program (NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force)  NATO Belgium Canada Czechia Germany Greece Hungary Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Turkey USAF Spain Norway Denmark | AEW&C (Airborne early warning and control) | E-3A | 14 | 18 aircraft used initially |
| Northrop Grumman – RQ-4 Global Hawk | United States | AGS (Alliance Ground Surveillance)  NATO Bulgaria Czechia Estonia Germany Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Poland Romania Slovakia Slovenia UK USAF Norway Denmark | UAV HALE / ISR / Combat | RQ-4D Phoenix (Block 40) | 5 | |

## Armament
### Weapons and equipment used on each aircraft
#### Panavia Tornado IDS variant

The IDS standard variant is a strike aircraft. The Recce sub-variant can perform all tasks of the IDS, and is capable of performing reconnaissance missions with a pod. This variant has a modified cockpit cabling and a different cockpit display (ASSTA-1 modernisation).
* Canon: Mauser BK-27
* Air-Air missiles: AIM-9L Sidewinder, IRIS-T
* Air-ground missiles: AGM-88B HARM Block IIIB, Taurus KEPD 350, Laser-Guided Sidewinder
* Guided bombs: GBU-24 Paveway III (MK-84 or BLU-109), GBU-38 / 54 JDAM (MK-82 bomb body),
* Unguided bombs: MK-82
* Nuclear bombs: B61-3 and B61-4
* Pods: Litening II (Rafael), Airborne Reconnaissance Pod II (ARP II)

#### Tornado ECR

An electronic warfare and SEAD / DEAD aircraft.
* Canon: Mauser BK-27
* Air-to-Air missiles: AIM-9L, IRIS-T
* Anti-radiation missiles: AGM-88B HARM Block IIIB
* Guided bombs: GBU-38 / 54 JDAM (MK-82 bomb body)
* Unguided bombs: MK-82, MK-83, MK-84
* Other: ECM pods (including jammers), passive radar, and ECCM equipment

#### Eurofighter T1

* Canon: Mauser BK-27
* Air-Air missiles: AIM-9L, AIM-120B AMRAAM, IRIS-T
* Guided bombs: GBU-48 Paveway III
* Pods: Rafael Litening III

#### Eurofighter T2, T3 and T4

* Canon: Mauser BK-27
* Air-Air missiles: AIM-9L, AIM-120B, IRIS-T, AIM-120C5, Meteor
* Air-ground missiles: AGM-88E Brimstone 3
* Guided bombs: GBU-48 Paveway III, GBU-54 Laser-JDAM,
* Pods: Rafael Litening III, Litening V ordered

#### Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

* Canon: GAU-22/A
* Air-Air missiles: AIM-9X, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-132 ASRAAM, Meteor
* Air-Surface missile: AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile, AGM-158C LRASM
* Guided bombs: Joint Direct Attack Munition, Paveway

##### Complementary elements for some weapons

Conventional Guided bombs:
* GBU-24, 907 kg bomb with a Paveway II semi-active laser guidance system, a FBM21 fuse and:
** MK-84 bomb body, or
** BLU-109 penetration bomb
* GBU-38 JDAM, 277 kg bomb with a JDAM guidance system (GPS/INS), MK-82 bomb body and FBM21 fuse.
* GBU-54 Laser-JDAM, 277 kg bomb made of the L-JDAM guidance system (passive laser seeker, GPS/INS), MK-82 bomb body and a FBM21 bomb fuse and an APS (adjustable proximity sensor).
* GBU-48, 454 kg bomb made of the Enhanced Paveway II guidance system (passive laser seeker, GPS/INS), MK-83 bomb body and FBM21 bomb fuse.

## Air Defence Systems
### Surface-to-air missiles

| Model | Image | Origin | Type | Number | Notes |
| MIM-104 Patriot Mobile and Protected Signals Intelligence | | Germany  United States | SAM | 7 | During Cold War, Germany had 36 Patriot systems in service. As of July 2024: 7 systems in service 3 from the storage delivered to Ukraine in April 2023, PAC-3 variant The systems in service are upgraded to PAC-3 standard, and it is equipped with PAC-2 and PAC-3 CRI missiles in service. Germany has also PAC-3 MSE and PAC-2 GEM-T missiles on order. 16 of the launchers will be converted to be capable to operate the PAC-3 MSE missiles. |
| IRIS-T SLM Part of the ESSI | | Germany | Tactical air defense system | 1 / 6 | It is based on the IRIS-T air-to-air missile equipped with an enlarged rocket motor, data link, and jettisonable drag-reducing nose cone. The radar system expected is the Hensoldt TRML-4D, and it should be supported by the Integrated Battle Management Software Fire Control System (IBMS-FS) by Airbus. Six batteries are purchased for €950 million and the delivery will start from 2024, 8 in total are expected eventually. First delivery in August 2024. |
| Ozelot LeFlaSys (leichtes Flugabwehrsystem) | FlaRaWaTrg: AFF: BF/UF: | Germany  United States | Light SHORAD | 67 vehicles | System based on Wiesel 2 vehicles, composed of the variants: 50 FlaRaWaTrg weapon carriers equipped with 3FIM-92 Stinger missiles (+ 4 in storage) 7 AFF radar and fire control posts equipped with a 3D radar, a IFF system and a command system 10 BF/UF ("FlaFührung"), platoon command posts Operated by the 3rd Squadron of 61 Surface-to-Air Missile Group. A standard battery is made of 1 AFF 1 BF/UF 5–8 FlaRaWaTrg |

### Radar systems

| Model | Image | Origin | Type | Quantity | Notes |
| Ground Master 406F | | France  United States | Early Warning (EW) Radar / AESA Radar | 6 | Modified variant of the GM400 for the German forces, for a fixed radar system. Operated by the "Operational Command Service" of the Luftwaffe (EinsFüDstLw). Manufactured by Thales Raytheon Systems. |
| HADR NF | | Germany  Israel | 3D radar / Long range air surveillance / Active Phased Array Radar | 4 | |
| RRP 117 | | United States | 3D radar / Long range air surveillance / Active Phased Array Radar | 8 | Under radome, in service since 1998 |
| Selex RAT-31DL | | Italy | L-band solid state phased array / 3D surveillance radar | 2 | 500 km range https://electronics.leonardo.com/en/products/rat-31dl |
| Hensoldt’s ASR-S | (Illustration image) | Germany | Airport surveillance radar | 20 | Radar used for: approach control at the airfields airspace surveillance in order to coordinate and integrate the military movements within the civilian traffic (100 km radius) |

### Navigation equipment

| Model | Image | Origin | Type | Quantity | Notes |
| TACAN | | — | Tactical air navigation | — | |

## Future equipment for the German Air Force
### Aircraft
#### List of new aircraft ordered

| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | Ordered | Notes |
| Combat aircraft |||||||
| Eurofighter Typhoon | United Kingdom  Germany  Italy  Spain | Swingrole | T4 | 38 | |
| Eurofighter Typhoon | United Kingdom  Germany  Italy  Spain | Swingrole | T5 | (20) | Planned order |
| Eurofighter Typhoon | United Kingdom  Germany  Italy  Spain | SEAD / ECR (Electronic Combat Reconnaissance) | ECR | 15 | |
| Lockheed Martin F-35 | United States | multirole / nuclear deterrent bomber | F-35A | 35 | Purchased to continue German contribution to the Nuclear sharing B61-12 |
| Helicopter |||||||
| CH-47 Chinook | United States | Heavy transport helicopter | CH-47F Block II | 60 | |
| H145 | Germany | Attack helicopter | H145M | 5 | 62 ordered by the German military, 5 for the Luftwaffe, 57 for the army. 20 additional ones are on option. |
| UAVs |||||||
| Eurodrone | France  Germany  Italy  Spain | surveillance, reconnaissance and combat | — | 21 | 7 systems on contract with 21 drones for €3 billion |
| SIGINT |||||||
| PEGASUS | Germany  Canada  United States | Surveillance | Global 6000 | 3 | Ordered in 2021, to enter service by 2025 and replace the Eurohawk |

#### Aircraft to be replaced

List of aircraft that are planned to be replaced in a near future for which the successor has not yet been selected.
| Aircraft | Origin | Image | Type | Quantity | Notes |
| Eurocopter AS532 U2 | France | | VIP transport | 3 | €200 million budget for the replacement. It is planned to be replaced from 2027 (after 30 years in service). |

### Equipment for future German aircraft
#### F-35 (future equipment)

Future aircraft for the German Air Force, to take over the nuclear deterrence mission and to be used as a strike aircraft as well:
* Cannon: GAU-22/A (25 mm)
* Air-to-Air missiles: AIM-9X Block 2, AIM-120C8
* Air-ground missiles: AGM-158B/B2 JASSM-ER
* Guided bombs: GBU-53, GBU-31 (BLU-109 2000LB HP), GBU-54 (MK82)
* Other: DSU-38 Laser Illuminated Target Detectors for GBU-54
* Nuclear bomb: B61-12 (it will equip the F-35, designed to be stored internally)

#### Eurofighter ECR

* Electronic Attack configuration
** Canon: Mauser BK-27
** Air-to-Air missiles: 2 IRIS-T, 4 Meteor
** Anti-radiation missiles: 2 AGM-88E
** Pod: 2 escort jammer Saab Arexis, 3 fuel tanks
* SEAD configuration
** Canon: Mauser BK-27
** Air-to-Air missiles: 2 IRIS-T, 4 Meteor
** Anti-radiation missiles: 2 AGM-88E, 6 SPEAR-EW
** Pod: 3 fuel tanks

### Air defence of the German military
#### Purchases confirmed

| System | Origin | Type | Number | Notes |
| SAM Systems ||||||
| Arrow 3 | Israel United States | Anti-ballistic missile | 3 | The sale has been approved by Israel and the USA. The contract cost is $3.5 billion and Germany already paid a $600 million initial payment |
| MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3+ Part of the ESSI | Germany  United States | SAM /Anti-ballistic missile | 8 | Orders: 4 fire units ordered to Raytheon, confirmed in March 2024, $1.2 billion cost. 4 fire units approved by the parliament in July 2024 for €1.35 billion The contracts include the fire units, spare parts and support services. |
| SAM missiles ||||||
| MIM-104 Patriot - PAC-2 GEM-T | Germany United States | Surface-to-air missiles | 200 (+ 300 on option) | Framework agreement for up to 500 missiles approved in December 2023 for €3.01 billion. The missiles will be assembled in Germany, and the main subcontractors will be MBDA, Bayern Chemie, TDW Gesellschaft für Wirksysteme, Sener Aerospacial and RTX. Orders: 100 confirmed order for €602.1 million 100 ordered in August 2024 for €430 million (after approval by the Bundestag in July 2024) |
| MIM-104 Patriot - PAC-3 MSE | United States | Surface-to-air missiles | 248 | Germany cleared by DSCA to purchase up to 600 missiles in August 2024. In December 2024, the German parliament approved the purchase of 120 and 128 missiles in two different instances. |
| Air-to-air missiles ||||||
| Meteor | United Kingdom  Germany  France  Italy  Spain  Sweden | Air-to-air missiles | — (€521 million) | Approved for purchase in November 2024. |
| AIM-120C AMRAAM | United States | Air-to-air missiles | 105 | Ordered with the F-35A. |
| AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM | United States | Air-to-air missiles | — (969 planned) | In July 2023, the US State Department approved the sale of AIM-120C8 for €2.61 billion. It includes: 969 AIM-120C-8 + 12 guidance sections + Captive Air Training Missiles + support equipment. In May 2024, the Parliamentary Budget Committee approved the purchase of an unknown quantity of missiles for €178 million. |
| IRIS-T | Germany | Air-to-air missiles | 120 (+ 1,160 in option) | Ordered in December 2023. €108 million for the 120 first missiles in the LFK version (air-air). Approval to modernise and maintain the IRIS-T missiles in December 2024. |
| Air-to-ground missiles ||||||
| Brimstone 3 | United Kingdom | Air-to-surface missiles | 379 | Framework agreement for 3,266 missiles approved in June 2024. Orders: June 2024 379 missiles for €376 million 274 missiles + launchers ordered to MBDA Deutschland 29 missiles for operational testing + 75 missiles for telemetry |
| Radars ||||||
| Indra S3TSR "L-Guard" (LEO- Ground based Upscaled AESA RaDar) | Spain | Space surveillance radar | 1 | Low Earth orbit surveillance radar operating from 200 to 2,000 km. Ordered in February 2025 to Indra. |

#### Potential future equipment

The equipment mentioned here is part of the program NNbS, ("Nah- und Nächstbereichs-schutz"), close air-support for the ground troops. At the moment, no decision has been made regarding the operator of those systems, it could go to the Bundeswehr or the Luftwaffe. In 2010, the German forces decided to retire the last 90 Flakpanzer Gepard. In 2012, the air defense of the Bundeswehr was completely disbanded. The Luftwaffe was to support the German forces with their Wiesel 2 Ozelot, and German soldiers had access to FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS.
This equipment described below is the most likely candidates that have been mentioned by the German military and by the German defence industry. More details can be found on the page "List of modern equipment of the German Army".
| System | Notes |
| Lockheed Martin F-35 | 8 additional being considered. |
| LuWES "Luftgestützte Wirkung im elektromagnetischen Spektrum" | Airborne Effects in the Electromagnetic Spectrum planned to be purchased, potential platforms include Airbus airliners or the A400M. |
| AGM-158B JASSM-ER | 75 planned by the Bundeswehr. |
| AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM | The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) asked for the Congress approval of potentially USD $2.90 billion in military sales for the German Air Force on the 19th of July 2023. This sale would include: 969 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM ≤ 12 AMRAAM C8 guidance sections AIM-120 Captive Air Training Missiles Support equipment (telemetry kit and control section spares and containers, spare parts and support) |
| IRIS-T SLS Mk III | ARGE NNbS (joint venture including Diehl Defence, Rheinmetall Electronics and Hensoldt Sensors) offered the following solution for the "Surface-to-air missile / SHORAD" phase of the program: Vehicle: Mowag Eagle V 6x6 Missile: 2 IRIS-T SLS Mast with IFF and a radar (3D, 360°, AESA): Saab Giraffe Lightweight 1X Hensoldt Spexer Lightweight C2 system: Airbus Fortion IBMS ("Integrated Battle Management Software") |
| Skyranger 30 NNbS program (Nah- und Nächstbereichs-schutz) | Rheinmetall Air Defense offers this Boxer 8x8 equipped with an Oerlikon Skyranger 30 turret for the "SHORAD / C-RAM" phase of the program: Weapons: Oerlikon KCA gun using the 30 mm variant of the AHEAD airburst ammunition Short range SAM missile (Stinger, Mistral, most likely Skyknight) Could be equipped with the Oerlikon high-energy laser (HEL) Sensors S-band AESA Multi-Mission Radar (AMMR) by Rheinmetall Italia FIRST ("Fast Infrared search and track") TREO compact target tracker (1 HD cooled MWIR thermal camera, 1 HD camera two laser rangefinders, one for air targets one for land targets |
| Patriot system maintenance | 120 carrier vehicles to be ordered 129 power systems |
| WRÜbwR Weltraumüberwachungsradars | Approval for the purchase of a space surveillance radar. |
| Skyranger 30 NNbS program (Nah- und Nächstbereichs-schutz) | |