"There is no reason to worry about the safety of the pilots," a defense ministry spokesman added on Tuesday.
According to the report, the jets ran into difficulty during strong turbulence, as one of the reconnaissance jets was attempting a routine air refueling. The aircraft pilots decided to land in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, rather than return to the NATO base at Incirlik because of a lack of fuel.
The Bundeswehr reported that after landing in Erbil, it was established that the jet in question was still airworthy despite a defect in its fuel tank. Both jets refueled on the ground, and returned to the Incirlik base in the evening.
Following an appeal from French President Francois Hollande in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks, on December 4 2015 the German Bundestag approved the provision of six German Tornados to carry out reconnaissance missions and aid the US-led coalition's campaign of airstrikes against Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
However, just days before the Bundestag vote, the Defense Ministry released a report revealing that only 29 of Germany's 66 Tornado jets in operation were airworthy.
Last month Germany's NRD news broadcaster reported that 39 of Germany's most modern Tornado aircraft had been grounded, including all six aircraft at Incirlik, because of loose screws on a screen in the cockpit.
As well as the Tornados, the German parliament also approved the provision of Germany's "Augsburg" F122 Bremen-class frigate, an Airbus aerial refueling tanker aircraft and up to 1,200 troops in support roles for the US-led coalition. The parliament approved a one-year mandate for the operation, scheduled to end December 31 this year.
Later this month, the Bundestag is set to vote on the expansion of Germany's participation in the anti-terror campaign. The defense ministry is proposing to deploy more German military pilots in NATO AWACS reconnaissance aircraft, in order to support air strikes against Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
