Only 29 of Germany's Tornado Combat Aircraft Operational

Out of 93 Tornado combat aircraft acquired for the German Bundeswehr, only 29 are operational, a new report of the German Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — Majority of the jets are 23-34 years old, they are considered obsolete. However, Bundeswehr's Eurofighter jets that were acquired to replace them are in similar conditions — 37 of them are operational out of 68 aircraft.

The experts characterized the overall situation in the German Air Force as unsatisfactory.

The report was presented on Wednesday at a closed meeting of the Bundestag Defense Committee ahead of the German parliament's final vote on the approval of the government's plan to engage in a military operation against Islamic State (ISIL, or Daesh in the Arab world) in Syria slated for Friday.

On Tuesday, the German government approved operations by its troops against Daesh in Syria.

The mission against Daesh, outlawed in Russia and many other countries, will involve up to 1,200 German troops. The German Armed Forces plan to engage several Tornado reconnaissance combat aircraft and a frigate to support the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Mediterranean Sea. An aerial refuelling aircraft, satellite reconnaissance and headquarters staff will support the mission.