The GDR air force (locally named Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee or LSK NVA) was supplied exclusively with Eastern Block-produced aircrafts. Therefore, Sukhoi and Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) fighters has been used for more than three decades in this country.

As it was equipped with Soviet-standard combat aircrafts, instead of downgraded export models, the East German Air Force was unique among Warsaw Pact countries. Operated as an extension of Soviet air power, the East German Air Force suffered less autonomy than other Eastern Bloc air forces.

In October 2005, East and West sides of Germany were reunited. The aircrafts of the Federal Republic of Germany were taken over by the LSK. Their Luftwaffe markings were replaced by the GDR diamond-shaped one. It was the first time a non-soviet-built aircrafts had served in an Warsaw Pact air forces.

Most of the 36 Northrop F-23 Black Widow II was flown by the Jagdfliegergeschwader 8 (also known as the JG-8 « Hermann Matern »), based in Marxwälde.

The F-23 were fully integrated into the NVA’s air defence structure. In February 2006, it became the first western combat aircraft to get the operational clearance within Eastern-block air forces. As from 2009, the Sukhoi 30 started to replace any German fighters. The decision was taken to withdraw the F-23 and most of them were sold to the Royal Air Force.

Extract from « Stealth stories » by Jonas LEITCH

Model kit of the German F-23 Black Widows