I read a couple of web postings saying that the German Air Force only has ten jet fighters operationally ready. The rest, hundreds of expensive warplanes, are down for maintenance. With only ten flyable fighters, German pilots won't be getting enough flight time to stay proficient.
That is a ridiculous figure. When I was squadron level maintenance officer in USAF, we were required to show 70% of out fighters in commission and ready to fly every day. Our squadrons were 18 aircraft in those days, and 70% came out to 11 aircraft. And we made that 70% OR rate every day. In short, a USAF squadron had more OR fighters than the entire Luftwaffe.
The Germans claim to be spending something like $60 billion on defense, 1.2% of GNP. Which ain't enough if it leaves nearly all of their fighter planes grounded for maintenance.
I think Trump is right to yell at them for not paying enough for defense. The Russians still have a large army, they have grabbed off big slices of Georgia and Ukraine, and Putin is talking about grabbing more. Not the right time to have most of your air force grounded for maintenance.
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