IG Metall demands air force orders for the industry
IG Metall has criticized Germany's armaments policy. The purchase of fighter planes and helicopters in the USA "threatens to bring down the military aviation industry in Germany", said the second chairman of IG Metall, Jürgen Kerner, on Tuesday at an action day at Airbus in Taufkirchen near Munich. This would also weaken civil aircraft construction, "with massively negative consequences for technology development and the more than 100,000 highly qualified jobs that exist today". The union is therefore calling for the further development of the Eurofighter and the Tiger combat helicopter.
The German government had set up a special fund of 100 billion euros for the modernization of the Bundeswehr, 40 billion of which was earmarked for the air force. But the taxpayers' money is going to the USA: the government has ordered 35 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin and further procurements are in the pipeline. "But whether the Eurofighter will be developed further is written in the stars," said Kerner. The European Tiger helicopter is threatened with retirement in Germany. The new transport helicopter will be purchased from Boeing, and the purchase of the US Apache combat helicopter has already been brought into play.
In addition, the German government had failed to involve the German aviation industry in the production of components, further development and maintenance of the US aircraft. Other countries, on the other hand, regularly linked major procurements to commitments in order to secure production and jobs in their own country, said Munich-based IG Metall Managing Director Daniele Frijia.
Without a new Eurofighter order, the Franco-German-Spanish FCAS air combat system, which is intended to significantly strengthen Europe's air defense from 2040, would also be at risk. "If Germany wants to make progress with FCAS, the government must invest today in bridging technologies such as the further development of the Eurofighter," said Kerner.
The defense industry is concerned about the potential impact of Germany's purchase of fighter planes and helicopters from the USA on its military aviation sector. Trade unions like IG Metall are advocating for the continued development of the Eurofighter and Tiger combat helicopter to safeguard jobs and technology development, as the German government's orders are largely going to the USA's Defense industry, such as Lockheed Martin, threatening the future of Airbus' Eurofighter and potentially leading to the retirement of the German Tiger helicopter and the procurement of Boeing's transport helicopter and Apache combat helicopter.
Source: www.dpa.com
