German equipment inventories are suffering from serviceability issues, a report on the current state of service and availability of equipment ordered by Germany's Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has revealed.
Von der Leyen ordered the assessment to be made following reports that most of the German Navy's helicopter fleet had to be grounded due to suffering from structural deficiencies.
The report, of which IHS Jane's obtained a copy, showed that among the known naval rotary issue, the Luftwaffe's fleet of Eurofighters is also experiencing an increased rate of unavailability.
According to the report, out of Germany's 109 Eurofighters, 35 aircraft are currently undergoing external maintenance, leaving 74 aircraft in service. However of these 74 only 42 aircraft are currently available for missions, training, and exercises. The report did not specify the reasons for this, but IHS Jane's has learnt that the decreased availability of the aircraft is based on a mixture of spare parts policy and their overall costs.
Following the availability report, German lawmakers from all parties started questioning whether Germany would be able to provide the self-pledged 60 Eurofighters as part of a NATO commitment in support of the Baltic States in the case of escalated Russian aggression. The criticism stems from an increasing number of media reports about the state of the Bundeswehr's flying systems.
An MoD source told IHS Jane's that the Luftwaffe's service availability of aircraft "has turned into a political debate in Germany that might confuse other members of the alliance. All of our current air policing and possible short-term commitments can and will be served. In the case of [Germany's] NATO Baltics commitment, don't forget that we stipulated a timeframe of 180 days to reach the number of 60 Eurofighters to be available for such a situation. It's a mistake to think that would be provided instantly on the first day. Indeed the Luftwaffe has 42 Eurofighters available and ready for missions now, readying the remaining 18 needed for the commitment during the 180 days timeframe is absolutely achievable."
"The issue here is that of service availability, and that is something that affects all nations. It would be interesting to find out how the others fare with this issue, both politically and mechanically," the source added.
ANALYSIS
The German availability rate for its aircraft appears low by comparison with the UK Royal Air Force's (RAF's) Eurofighter Typhoon fleet. With 35 of the Luftwaffe's 109 Eurofighters in long-term maintenance this represents 32% of its total fleet. This compares with 25% in long-term maintenance for the RAF (25 out of 100). Of the 75 aircraft in operational RAF service, the UK MoD wouldn't confirm specific numbers available, but noted availability rates were higher than targeted in performance-based contracts, and not comparable to the German rates.
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