Engine Maker MTU Hopes For Maintenance Deal in German Fleet Overhaul

Military aircraft engine maker MTU said on Thursday it hopes for “at least a maintenance deal” as Germany replaces its ageing Tornado fighter jet fleet with F-35 stealth bombers from Lockheed Martin.

MTU, which is working with the F-35 engine supplier Pratt & Whitney, is also prepared to supply spare parts, Chief Program Officer Michael Schreyoegg told journalists at the ILA Berlin Air Show trade fair.

Lockheed Martin said at the trade fair on Wednesday it could deliver the first fighter jets to Germany in 2026 depending on the outcome of talks with the German government, which had set 2025-2030 as the timeframe for the overhaul.

According to the U.S. manufacturer’s vice president of F-35 business development, J.R. McDonald, more German companies are looking into how they could get involved by supplying parts or providing maintenance.

(Reporting by Zuzanna Szymanska and Christina Amann; editing by Barbara Lewis)