German Air Force

The German Air and Space Force (German: Luftwaffe, lit. 'air weapon', pronounced [ˈlʊftvafə] ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany. The Luftwaffe (as part of the Bundeswehr) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Germany. After the reunification of West and East Germany in 1990, it integrated parts of the air force of the former German Democratic Republic, which itself had been founded in 1956 as part of the National People's Army. There is no organizational continuity between the current Luftwaffe of the Bundeswehr and the former Luftwaffe of the Wehrmacht founded in 1935, which was completely disbanded in 1945/46 after World War II. The term Luftwaffe that is used for both the historic and the current German air force is the German-language generic designation of any air force. The commander of the Luftwaffe is Lieutenant General Holger Neumann. As of 2015, the Luftwaffe uses eleven air bases, two of which host no flying units. Furthermore, the Air Force has a presence at three civil airports. In 2012, the Luftwaffe had an authorized strength of 28,475 active airmen and 4,914 reservists.