German Air Force takes flight for first Indo-Pacific deployment

STUTTGART, Germany — The German Air Force has sent a fleet of aircraft around the world for its first-ever deployment to the Indo-Pacific region, a move meant to demonstrate its operational capability during two regional exercises and to show solidarity with its allies there.

Six Eurofighter jets — painted with the flags of Germany, Singapore, Australia, South Korea, and Japan — left Neuburg Air Base Monday afternoon followed by four A400M multirole aircraft, and three A330 multirole tanker transport aircraft. The goal is to reach Singapore within 24 hours, with a pilot change taking place in Abu Dhabi. Upon arrival in Singapore, the aircraft will be transferred to Darwin, Australia, ahead of the biennial Pitch Black exercise taking place Aug. 19 to Sept. 9.

“We want to demonstrate that we can be in Asia within a day,” said Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz, the air service’s chief of staff.

During the Pitch Black exercise, the German air force Eurofighters will practice air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks and defense while in larger formations with allied and partner fleets, according to the Luftwaffe. Once Pitch Black has concluded, the aircraft will also participate in the Royal Australian Navy’s Kakadu exercise, to be held Sept. 12-26. There, the Luftwaffe assets will help to protect naval vessels from the air, per the service.

Following the two exercises, the German air force fleet will train with the Singapore air force, and sub-fleets will also visit Japan and South Korea. Despite recent announcements that Germany will procure the U.S.-made F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, a Luftwaffe spokesperson told Defense News that there are currently no plans to discuss F-35 interoperability with Tokyo or Seoul, both F-35 foreign military sales (FMS) customers as well.

The Rapid Pacific 2022 deployment shows that Germany “is also thinking of security beyond Europe,” the nation’s defense ministry said in a tweet Monday.

Germany’s first deployment to the Indo-Pacific is intended to reinforce alliances across the region, Air Force Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz told Defense News last October. The air deployment follows the August 2021 deployment of the German Navy’s “Bayern” frigate, which spent six months at sea and stopped at 12 ports on its route.

Germany and its NATO allies are increasingly turning toward the Indo-Pacific, even as they face challenges on the European continent with Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. NATO’s recently released Strategic Compass document warned for the first time that the People’s Republic of China’s stated ambitions and policies challenge the alliance’s interests, security, and values.

Berlin released a set of policy guidelines related to the Indo-Pacific region in 2020, and the Rapid Pacific deployment builds off of those guidelines, officials said.

The German Ministry of Defense has cited the security of global trade routes as a key area of interest. “An impairment of the transport routes in the Indo-Pacific, and thus the supply chains to and from Europe, would have serious consequences for the prosperity and supply of the Federal Republic of Germany,” the ministry said on its website. The increased defense spending by Indo-Pacific nations, and presence of nuclear powers including India, Pakistan, China, and Russia, are also cited as security risks.

Vivienne Machi is a reporter based in Stuttgart, Germany, contributing to Defense News' European coverage. She previously reported for National Defense Magazine, Defense Daily, Via Satellite, Foreign Policy and the Dayton Daily News. She was named the Defence Media Awards' best young defense journalist in 2020.

德国斯图加特——德国空军已向世界各地派遣了一支飞机编队，这是德国空军首次向印太地区部署。此举旨在通过两次地区演习展示其作战能力，并向其在该地区盟友表示团结。

六架涂有德国、新加坡、澳大利亚、韩国和日本国旗的欧洲战斗机于周一下午从诺伊堡空军基地起飞，随后是四架A400M多用途运输机和三架A330多用途加油运输机。目标是在24小时内抵达新加坡，飞行员将在阿布扎比进行更换。抵达新加坡后，这些飞机将被转送至澳大利亚达尔文，参加8月19日至9月9日举行的两年一度的“漆黑行动”（Pitch Black）联合军演。

“我们想证明，我们可以在一天之内抵达亚洲，”空军参谋长英戈·格哈茨中将说。

据德国空军称，在“漆黑行动”演习期间，德国空军的台风战斗机将与盟军和伙伴国的舰队组成更大规模的编队，演练空对空和空对地攻击与防御。演习结束后，这些战机还将参加9月12日至26日举行的澳大利亚皇家海军“卡卡杜”演习。届时，德国空军的战机将协助保护海军舰艇免受空中威胁。

两次演习结束后，德国空军将与新加坡空军进行联合训练，部分机队还将访问日本和韩国。尽管德国近期宣布将采购美国制造的F-35A联合攻击战斗机，但德国空军发言人告诉《防务新闻》，目前没有计划与东京或首尔（均为F-35对外军售客户）讨论F-35的互操作性问题。

德国国防部周一在推特上表示，“快速太平洋2022”部署表明，德国“也在考虑欧洲以外的安全问题”。

德国空军参谋长英戈·格哈茨中将去年10月告诉《防务新闻》，德国首次向印太地区部署兵力旨在加强该地区的联盟关系。此次空中部署紧随德国海军“巴伐利亚”号护卫舰于2021年8月部署之后。“巴伐利亚”号在海上航行了六个月，途中停靠了12个港口。

尽管俄罗斯持续入侵乌克兰，德国及其北约盟国在欧洲大陆面临诸多挑战，但它们正日益将目光转向印太地区。北约近期发布的《战略指南针》文件首次发出警告，中华人民共和国的既定目标和政策对北约的利益、安全和价值观构成挑战。

官员们表示，柏林在 2020 年发布了一系列与印太地区相关的政策指导方针，而“快速太平洋”部署正是基于这些指导方针。

德国国防部将全球贸易路线的安全列为重点关注领域。该部在其网站上表示：“印太地区运输路线的受损，以及由此导致的欧洲供应链中断，将对德意志联邦共和国的繁荣和物资供应造成严重后果。”印太地区各国不断增长的国防开支，以及包括印度、巴基斯坦、中国和俄罗斯在内的核大国的存在，也被视为安全风险。

薇薇安·马奇是驻德国斯图加特的一名记者，主要负责《防务新闻》的欧洲报道。她此前曾为《国家防务杂志》、《防务日报》、《卫星通讯》、《外交政策》和《代顿每日新闻》撰稿。2020年，她荣获防务媒体奖最佳青年防务记者称号。