page_title: German Air Force
section_title: Reunification
hierarchical_section_title: German Air Force / History / Reunification
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Mig-29 Fulcrum. Das in der Sowjetunion entwickelte und gefertigte Flugzeug wurde ab 1988 an die Landstreitkräfte der ehemaligen DDR geliefert. Die Luftwaffe übernahm 1990 zwanzig Einsitzer und vier Zweisitzer der ehemaligen NVA. Leicht modifiziert (Navigationsanlage, Gps.IFF-System) wurde sie auch im NATO Luftraum eingesetzt. Die Mig 29 wurde 2003 an die Polnischen Streitkräfte übergeben. ©Bundeswehr/PizLuftwaffe
context_page_description: The German Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany. With a strength of 27,620 personnel, it is the third largest air force within the European Union, after the Italian Air Force and French Air Force. The German Air Force was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of then West Germany. After the reunification of West and East Germany in 1990, it integrated parts of the air force of the former German Democratic Republic, which itself had been founded in 1956 as part of the National People's Army. There is no organizational continuity between the current German Air Force and the former Luftwaffe of the Wehrmacht founded in 1935, which was completely disbanded in 1945/46 after World War II. The term Luftwaffe 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 is Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz. 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.
context_section_description: After German reunification in October 1990, the aircraft and personnel of the former GDR air force, the Luftstreitkräfte der NVA were taken. The remnants of the East German Air Force were placed under the newly formed 5. Luftwaffendivision (5th Air Force Division) in Strausberg. In 1993, the division was renamed 3. Luftwaffendivision, moved to Gatow in Berlin 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 By 1990, the East German plane markings had been replaced by the Air Force Iron Cross, the first time Soviet-built aircraft had served in a NATO air force.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 the Luftstreitkräfte der NVA were supplied exclusively with Eastern Bloc-produced aircraft, such as the Sukhoi Su-17, MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-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 of NATO in Eastern Europe, such as Poland and the Baltic states.
  An exception to this was the Jagdfliegergeschwader 3 "Vladimir Komarov" (Fighter Wing 3 "Vladimir Komarov") in Preschen Air Base. The Jagdfliegergeschwader 3 flew brand new MiG-29 fighters. On 1 June 1993, the wing was renamed Jagdgeschwader 73 (Fighter Wing 73) and on 1 October 1994 completed its move to its new home at Laage 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 in dissimilar combat tactics. The United States sent a group of fighter pilots to Germany during the Red October exercise to practice tactics against the aircraft they were most likely to meet in real combat. The MiG-29s of JG 73 were fully integrated into the Luftwaffe's air defence structure and the first Soviet Bloc aircraft to be declared operational within NATO. With the introduction of the Eurofighter 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 the 41st Tactical Squadron of the Polish Air Force.
caption: A Luftwaffe MiG-29
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