Germany to replace aging fleet of government planes
Jon Shelton
February 1, 2019
The Ministry of Defense has announced it plans to order one plane this year and two more in the near future. The current fleet has been plagued with technical problems, stranding government officials at home and abroad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
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On Friday, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced that the Ministry of Defense will be replacing its aging long-range government planes. She said the first plane would be ordered this year, with two more to follow. Germany currently has two long-range planes for government officials.
In the past four months planes from Germany's Special Air Mission, which shuttles officials to meetings around the world, have been grounded no less than six times. The most embarrassing delay came in December, when Chancellor Angela Merkel missed the opening ceremony of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires due to technical problems. The chancellor, who was forced to land in Cologne, flew to Argentina the following day on a commercial flight.
Others that have been stranded include President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and Development Minister Gerd Müller. Steinmeier, who was unable to fly home from Ethiopia this week, has suffered the fate three times since November.
Müller was especially vocal about the problem, complaining that such embarrassing breakdowns were ruining Germany's reputation as a high-tech nation, he said they were damaging the "Made in Germany" brand.
Grounded: Problems with Germany's government planes
Germany's government Airbus planes have experienced several issues over the past few months. The latest difficulty prevented Chancellor Angela Merkel from showing up on time for the G20 summit in Argentina.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. von Jutrczenka
Late to G20 summit
While en route to a G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018, the A340-300 "Konrad Adenauer" carrying German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz had to make an unexpected landing at the Cologne/Bonn Airport. Merkel showed up late to the conference in the Argentinian capital.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Rodents? You're kidding right?
It was the second consecutive month in which the "Konrad Adenauer" needed to be grounded. The A340 also left Scholz stranded in Indonesia following a meeting of the International Monetary Fund in October 2018 after rodents gnawed through electric cables.
Image: Imago/photothek
Trouble in Africa
The "Konrad Adenauer" isn't the only Airbus belonging to the German government that has experienced problems. The A340 "Theodor Heuss" jet carrying German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier experienced technical problems during his trip to several countries in Africa.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. von Jutrczenka
Tell them I'll be late
Steinmeier also had his fair share of woes with the "Konrad Adenauer" jet. The German president's trip to Belarus in June 2018 was delayed due to problems with the plane's hydraulic system.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Carstensen
Pressure starts to tell
German Development Minister Gerd Müller's schedule was thrown into chaos when he was forced to cancel a visit to Namibia in January 2018 — because of plane trouble. Müller was scheduled to depart Malawi when his Bombardier Global 5000 was unable to take off due to a defective pressure valve. He was eventually able to continue on to Zambia on a commercial flight.
Image: imago/U. Grabowsky
I hear it's snowing at home
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was grounded in Ethiopia yet again when the "Theodore Heuss" was unable to embark on its return flight due to an air pressure problem. The delay would seem to put Steinmeier ahead of Olaf Scholz for the title of German official most often stranded due to technical problems.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Pedersen
Foreign minister stranded in Mali
On February 28, 2019, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was forced to stay overnight in the capital of Mali, Bamako, after his government plane had a mechanical problem. Maas strugged off the delay, saying he had traveled all over the world without a problem.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Hirschberger
The "Konrad Adenauer" strikes back with a burst tire
On April 1, 2019, the "Konrad Adenauer" hit back after a four-month overhaul. The ageing Airbus behaved badly on its first outing after its forced hiatus. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was on board when one of the tire's burst upon landing in New York. The plane had to be towed to a parking space, with the delay forcing Maas to miss an appointment at the UN Security Council.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Hirschberger
Crash landing
Also in April 2019, a Bombardier Global 5000 was severely damaged in an emergency landing after problems during a test flight. Pilots lost control of the plane shortly after take off and when attempting to land, where it jolted off the runway. The flight was a test flight after weeks of maintenance on the aircraft.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Russ
Maas delayed again
In May, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was delayed for a third time after engine trouble struck the Bundeswehr A321 he was travelling on for his first trip to Bulgaria. The plane's pilot blamed the failure of an auxiliary turbine, which supplies compressed air to the plane's engines, for the tardiness.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. von Jutrczenka
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Aging equipment
The Ministry of Defense now plans to purchase three new Airbus A350 planes directly from the manufacturer. The price tag for an A350 is about €180 million ($157 million). The special outfitting required for government planes — including sleeping quarters, a conference room, a security system and communications equipment — add roughly €100 million more.
Though the first plane will be ordered immediately, it may be 2022 before it can be put into use.
The Special Air Mission's two long-range Airbus A340 jets, the "Konrad Adenauer" and "Theodor Heuss," are almost 20 years old. Speaking in Dresden, von der Leyen said: "Ultimately, there comes a point when no matter how well you maintain equipment, you are confronted with material limitations due to aging. The Cabinet is generally in agreement, and we are working hard to get these new planes."
The German Air Force says that it currently operates 14 Airbus and Bombardier planes for short-, middle-, and long-range flights. An Air Force spokesman defended the branch's record, saying: "Over the past two years we have cancelled 18 of 1,600 government flights. So we are under 2 percent."
Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment
Germany's military faces almost daily reports on new problems with its hardware: planes and helicopters on the ground, tanks and ships not operational. The list goes on.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Faulty tanks and grounded helicopters
Frustrated soldiers and a defense system struggling to repair its way into a fully functioning military. And a new defense minister who will have to regain confidence from army representatives.
Image: Getty Images/V. Wieker
Defective helicopters
Ageing helicopters have proved a big hurdle for the German military. The Bundeswehr has grounded all its 53 Tiger helicopters, after engineers said technical faults needed attention. Defense services were also forced to recall 22 Sea Lynx anti-submarine helicopters in 2014, confirming newspaper reports of malfunction.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Carsten Rehder
Manufacturing fault
The Eurofighter is the German military's most modern fighter jet. As a result of a manufacturing error, only four of the 128 planes were in action in 2018. A pilot was killed in June 2019 when two Eurofighters collided in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, prompting fresh calls for further restrictions on the plane's use.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Let's replace it... as soon as we make a decision
Tornado fighters have been flying for over 40 years. CDU plans to replace the ageing planes were thrown into question by the center-left SPD in February 2019. But some officials claim flying the Tornado after 2030 could cost Germany around €8 billion ($9 billion) in repair costs.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Udo Zander
Not making any tracks
New Puma tanks for the German military came into use in 2018. Only 27 of the 71 Pumas were immediately ready for deployment — which prompted a fresh backlash against then Defense Secretary Ursula von der Leyen.
Image: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
Glitches at sea
New F125 frigates — but they are't ready yet. German plans to replace the old frigates stalled in 2018, due to there not being enough spare parts to make them seaworthy. Officials also said Germany would have to soon stop signing up to NATO and UN missions in the same year — the country just did not have enough ships spare.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Headache for AKK?
She has not been in the job long, but Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has inherited a huge problem. Old equipment being grounded is now a regular and pressing occurrence. Former Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen signed a deal to develop a "Future Combat Air System" in June — which is scheduled to replace Germany's air force by 2040.
