Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is critical of the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine. Training on the machines would take months, says armaments chief Schöllhorn. However, he does not want to rule out deliveries at a later date.
The head of the Airbus armaments division, Michael Schöllhorn, has spoken out against the delivery of Western fighter jets to Ukraine at this point in time. “In view of the strong Russian air defense system, I would question the fact that combat aircraft are currently the key factor in the Ukraine war,” said the head of Airbus Defense and Space of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. According to this, it would only be about older aircraft anyway, and the training of pilots and technicians would take months.
However, Schöllhorn did not want to “categorically rule out anything”. He doesn’t say “that for God’s sake you can’t do that because Putin will get angry.” Anyone who wants to “make a change in behavior” by Russian President Vladimir Putin must “confront him with a signal of permanent strength”.
Airbus Defense and Space has not yet received any concrete orders from the federal government’s 100 billion euro special fund. Schöllhorn is therefore hoping for a lasting rethink in terms of defense policy and the armaments industry. “The real turning point is the one that has to take place in the minds of the German population,” he said.
“Diplomacy only has a chance if I don’t deny the military.” It is possible to be “value-oriented” and still invest in defense, Schöllhorn told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. “If my counterpart tramples on any value, I have to.”
According to Schöllhorn, the armaments industry’s talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz are “very helpful”. The chancellor now wants to see “what the industry can achieve”. The manager literally: “I see that as progress in our relations, as well as the fact that the new defense minister is seeking dialogue with industry. That wasn’t always the case.”
