WEEZE (dpa-AFX) - With a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday (9 a.m.), the Rheinmetall armaments group will begin construction of a factory in Weeze, North Rhine-Westphalia, where components for fighter jets will be manufactured. Starting in 2025, so-called mid-fuselage parts for at least 400 F-35 stealth bombers are to be produced there.

This is the first time that money from the German government's 100 billion euro special fund has been invested in a new production facility. 400 jobs are to be created. Last year, the federal government ordered 35 of these U.S. aircraft for 8.3 billion euros. The F-35 is to replace the aging Tornado by 2030.

Rheinmetall is only a minor partner in this major project of the two U.S. defence companies Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. It is not known how much money will flow to the Düsseldorf-based company. The head of Germany's largest arms manufacturer, Armin Papperger, sees the F-35 project as a "genuine transfer of know-how to Germany as a business location." NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and representatives of the German armed forces are expected to attend the groundbreaking ceremony at the Weeze Airport industrial park.

The F-35 is considered the most modern fighter aircraft in the world and is also being purchased for Germany's so-called nuclear sharing, a NATO deterrence concept in which allies have access to U.S. nuclear bombs. Because of its shape and external coating, the aircraft is difficult for enemy radar to detect./wdw/DP/he