Germany’s defence chief to discuss UN peacekeeping, F-35s in US

Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is travelling to the United States for talks with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, as Berlin moves ahead with plans to modernise its air force.

Pistorius is due to meet Hegseth at the Pentagon on Tuesday, September 15, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. It will be Pistorius’s first visit to Washington since he met Hegseth there in summer 2025.

The German minister will then travel to New York, where his programme includes meetings with representatives of the United Nations, including Secretary-General António Guterres. The discussions are expected to focus on the future of UN peacekeeping missions.

On Friday, Pistorius is scheduled to visit US aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas. The company is set to deliver Germany’s first F-35 stealth fighter jets under an order aimed at replacing the German Air Force’s ageing Tornado combat aircraft.

The F-35s are intended to become a key component of Germany’s air-power modernisation as the country phases out its decades-old Tornado fleet.

By Tamilla Hasanova