disbanded. The entire maritime combat role was assigned to the , one unit of which has had its Tornado fighters equipped to carry Kormoran II missiles and American HARM missiles. 2010s As of 2014, a significant proportion of Germany's military aircraft was reported to be unserviceable. It was reported that around half of the Eurofighters and Tornados were not currently airworthy, and that the aging C-160 fleet remained in limited service while awaiting the introduction of the Airbus A400M, the first of which was delivered in December 2014. Ursula von der Leyen admitted that, due to the poor state of the 's equipment, Germany was no longer able to fulfill its NATO commitments. The German Air Force was one of the founding members of the European Air Transport Command headquartered in Eindhoven - The Netherlands and most of the Transport & Tanker assets have been transferred under EATC management. Replacement of four Airbus A310 MRTT by the Airbus A330 MRTT was approved in 2018 by joining the acquisition of four by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Future plans are the replacement of the ageing Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, which were acquired in the 1970s, by Boeing CH-47 Chinook or Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion. Bid for heavy transport helicopter program or STH () is initiated in 2018. However, the award was suspended in 2020 due to high price tag on both helicopter. The participated in the Israeli Air Force exercise "Blue Flag", the country's largest international air combat exercise, designed to simulate extreme combat scenarios. The German Air Force's six Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets were from Tactical Air Force Squadron 73 Steinhoff from Rostock. It is the first German participation in the Blue Flag exercise. In 2018, the Air Force issued a request for information from manufacturers about four potential aircraft to replace the aging Panavia Tornados - the Eurofighter Typhoon, F-15 Advanced Eagle, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35 Lightning. In January 2019, it was announced that the F-35 Lightning had been dropped from the shortlist, with the Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet under consideration. The German Air Force will acquire three C-130J Super Hercules Transport and three KC-130J Tanker Aircraft (delivery planned 2020–2021), which will be jointly operated with the French Air Force's two C-130J and two KC-130J Aircraft (delivery planned 2018–2019). 2020s In April 2020, the German government announced its intention to gain approval for the purchase