At the same time that the F-104 was falling out of U.S. favor, the West German Air Force was looking for a multi-role combat aircraft to operate in support of a missile defense system. In response, Lockheed reworked the Starfighter from a fair-weather fighter into an all-weather ground-attack, reconnaissance, and interceptor aircraft, and presented it as the F-104G. The redesigned aircraft was chosen over the English Electric P.1 (later the Lightning), Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger, Vought F-8 Crusader and Republic F-105 Thunderchief.. Ten other aircraft types, including the F-102, F-106, Saunders-Roe SR.177, and the Saab 35 Draken, were also considered but discarded earlier in the process.Jackson 1976, p. 19. The F-104G was ultimately chosen because the other two finalists were still in the development phase while the F-104 was about to be introduced into USAF service; although the American version lacked all-weather capability, Lockheed promised they could deliver this, and favorable reports by the German Ministry of Defence delegation sent in December 1957 to flight-test the F-104 tipped the scales in the Starfighter's favor.Kropf 2002, pp. 16–17.
At the same time that the ,F-104 was falling out of U.S. favor, the West German Air Force was looking for a multi-role combat aircraft to operate in support of a missile defense system. In response, Lockheed reworked the Starfighter from a fair-weather fighter into an all-weather ground-attack, reconnaissance, and interceptor aircraft, and presented it as the F-104G. The redesigned aircraft was chosen over the English Electric P.1 (later the Lightning), Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger, Vought F-8 Crusader and Republic F-105 Thunderchief.. Ten other aircraft types, including the F-102, F-106, Saunders-Roe SR.177, and the Saab 35 Draken, were also considered but discarded earlier in the process.Jackson 1976 p. 19. The F-104G was ultimately chosen because the other two finalists were still in the development phase while the F-104 was about to be introduced into USAF service; although the American version lacked all-weather capability, Lockheed promised they could deliver this, and favorable reports by the German Ministry of Defence delegation sent in December 1957 to flight-test the F-104 tipped the scales in the Starfighter's favor.Kropf 2002, pp. 16–17.