STORY: Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht visiting a distribution center for Bundeswehr clothing in Simmern on Tuesday. But when it comes to equipment, the most pressing issue at the moment is the planned procurement of the US F-35 fighter jets. The minister again rejected allegations that procurement was stalling. It was initially necessary for the budget to be in place, which is now the case. “If you just look at the neighboring countries, which already have the F35, for example, and the procedure has already been completed there. And as the inspector of the Air Force said so aptly, it can’t be that different and it isn’t either . But it is the householder’s right to have these questions answered. And of course we do.” Germany wants to buy the F-35 jets from the USA as a replacement for the Tornado fighter jets. The jet is needed to replace the Luftwaffe’s outdated Tornados as part of Germany’s so-called nuclear sharing scheme. In the event of war, US nuclear weapons are flown to the target with German fighter jets.