German Air Force

The German Air Force (also referred to as the Luftwaffe) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany. With a strength of 52,818 men (December 2012), it is the fourth largest air force within the European Union, after the air forces of France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Although its budget has been significantly reduced since the end of the Cold War in 1989/90, the Luftwaffe is still among the best-equipped air forces of the world. Like the other branches of the Bundeswehr, it is fully integrated into the structures of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 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 Luftwaffe of the Bundeswehr and the former Luftwaffe of the Wehrmacht, 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, thus not establishing a link between the two forces.

List of Aircraft

 * Combat Aircraft
 * Panavia Tornado x 144 (Multirole Fighter)
 * Eurofighter Typhoon x 250 (Strike Aircraft)
 * Special Purpose Aircraft
 * Airbus / IAI CC-150E Polaris Farsight x 8 (AWACS)
 * Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 "Fulcrum" x 24 (Multirole Fighter, Agressor Unit)
 * Transport Aircraft
 * Airbus A130 MRTT x 10 (Aerial Tanker)
 * Airbus A319CJ x 2 (VIP Transport)
 * Airbus A340 x 4 (VIP Transport)
 * Airbus A400M Atlas x 60 (Tactical Airlifter)
 * Bombardier Global Express 5000 x 4 (VIP Transport)
 * Training Aircraft
 * Beechcraft T-6 Texan x 70 II (Basic Trainer)
 * Northrop T-38 Talon x 35 (Jet Trainer)
 * Helicopters
 * Eurocoptor AS.532 Cougar x 3 (VIP Transport)
 * Sikorsky CH-53E Sea Stallion x 42 (Heavy Lift Transport Helicopter)
 * UAVs
 * Northrop Grumman RQ-4B EuroHawk x 5 (SIGNIT Operations)
 * IAI Heron x 3 (Reconnaissance)