Ostrozac said:
Given that the stated reason for the closure of Garrison Stuttgart is Germany’s failure to meet 2% of GDP NATO spending targets, wouldn’t it make sense to move AFRICOM to a country that meets those targets? Maybe Souda Bay, Crete or Gibraltar? Both Greece and the UK hit the 2% target, and both locations are closer to Africa than Germany.
I do note that Belgium doesn’t meet the 2% target, but that’s where EUCOM is going. So maybe the 2% target isn’t actually the critical factor.
Isn't the NATO target supposed to be 2% by 2024? If so, doesn't creating all of this hassle kind of jump the gun a bit?
For a President who is as pro-military as Trump, he certainly has his moments where he doesn't think about future foreign purchases of US military goods.
Germany is just about to buy over 45 Super Hornets, along with almost 100 new Typhoons to replace their Tornado & Tranche 1 Typhoons, respectably. There was quite a push from the various political parties to just go all Typhoon to:
a) Consolidate their combat fleet into a single aircraft type, creating substantial savings when it comes to pilot training, maintainers training, spare parts, logistics, etc.
b) Help reinforce and bolster the European aerospace industry. (New Typhoons come with state of the art AESA radars, etc etc)
I know 45 Super Hornets isn't a huge deal to Boeing, especially now that they are building new Block 3 Super Hornets for the USN and upgrading the Block 2 aircraft to Block 3.
Add to that the probable sale of 144 F-15EX, possibly up to roughly 400 if the USAF choose to replace their F-15E. 45 Super Hornets isn't a big deal to Boeing now, I imagine, as their order books have become quite full lately.
Still though...that company needs every sale it can get right now. Losing this possible sale to Germany, and possibly losing out to the F-35 in Canada (They aren't in our good books either) -- has to sting a bit. :2c:
