Fighter pilot 'Hawk' takes charge of German Air Force
Neumann was inaugurated on Tuesday at a roll call ceremony at an airbase in Wunstorf, in the state of Lower Saxony.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that Neumann had learned the job from the bottom up and was held in high regard by the troops.
"The tasks remain challenging or are becoming even more challenging," Pistorius said, citing the war in Europe and the goal of securing NATO's eastern flank close to Russia.
The inspector general of the German military, Carsten Breuer, said that the air force had come together under its outgoing chief, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz. Gerhartz had made the air force "fit for war," Breuer said.
He called Neumann a top general and a "Eurofighter pilot with a heart and soul."
After seven years as the leader of the air force, Gerhartz will become commander of the NATO headquarters in Brunssum in the Netherlands.
Neumann completed his basic military service with the paratroopers in 1988 and 1989. Most recently, he was commander of the Tactical Air Force Squadrons, air transport units and training facilities in the Air Force Troop Command.
Neumann - whose pilot's name is Hawk - has completed 2,800 flying hours on various types of aircraft such as the Tornado and Eurofighter.
The new inspector general of the Luftwaffe will help oversee the deployment of the Arrow 3 air defence system. The first parts of the system will be set up in the coming year.
The Israeli system is designed to destroy incoming missiles at altitudes exceeding 100 kilometres.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
13 minutes ago
- USA Today
What time is the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting? Here's how to watch
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top European leaders at the White House on Monday, Aug. 18, just a few days after his one-day Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Live coverage: Will Zelenskyy give up land to Putin? Live updates on White House showdown The meeting comes fresh on the heels of the Friday, Aug. 15 summit in Anchorage session, which resulted in no major breakthroughs in peace negotiations over the years-long Russia-Ukraine war. The talks culminated in a vague statement to the media in which Putin spoke of an 'agreement,' while the pair's scheduled press conference was called off. Trump and his team are scheduled to meet with Zelenskyy and his team initially, before a later sit-down with a group of European leaders who have been staunch allies of the Ukrainian leader since the war began in February 2022, after Russia invaded. What time is the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting? See the schedule The European leaders are set to arrive at the White House at 12 p.m. ET, an hour before Zelenskyy's arrival. Trump and Zelenskyy are set to meet in the Oval Office at about 1:15 p.m. ET. Trump is to then greet a group of European leaders in the State Dining Room at 2:15 p.m. ET. The group is expected to pose for a picture at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET, and Trump is to meet with all the European leaders at 3 p.m. in the East Room. Trump and Zelenskyy will be joined by United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. How to watch the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting USA TODAY is scheduled to provide live coverage as Trump meets with Zelenskyy and European leaders. You can watch the embed below or on USA TODAY's YouTube channel. Contributing: Francesca Chambers, Sarah Wire, USA TODAY. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr.
The Hill
13 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump-Zelensky meeting: What each side wants
President Trump is set to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House on Monday for the first time since their disastrous meeting in February. Trump appears set to pressure Zelensky into accepting a peace agreement based on terms he discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit in Alaska on Friday. Zelensky will seek to avoid the type of fireworks that erupted during his last visit, without making painful concessions that reward Putin's war efforts. European leaders, who have staunchly backed Ukraine throughout the more than three-year conflict, will join a second meeting later in the day. Here's what Trump and Zelensky want out of the talks: Trump The president wants a peace agreement as soon as possible, and is set to pressure Ukraine to make major concessions to Russia to secure it. Trump has backed off demands for a short-term ceasefire, as Ukraine has demanded, and is instead focused on a broader agreement to permanently end the war. But Trump has indicated territorial concessions will need to be part of the deal, and it's unclear what exactly Putin would accept. U.S. officials have suggested Putin is willing to halt the war along the current 'contact line' between Russian and Ukrainian forces, rather than the boundaries of four regions Russia illegally annexed in 2022. Another open question is whether the U.S. will officially recognize Crimea as Russian territory, a designation Ukraine and Europe have adamantly opposed since it was occupied in 2014. 'President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,' Trump wrote on his social platform Truth Social on Sunday night. 'No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!' he added. Ukraine has until now insisted on its right to self-determination on its security partnerships, pushing for eventual ascension into NATO, while Russia has pointed to Ukraine's potential membership in the security alliance as justification for its war. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN on Sunday that the U.S. was prepared to offer Ukraine security guarantees that were 'like' NATO's Article 5, which compels alliance members such as the U.S. to defend each other. Witkoff said Putin has signed off on the idea, though it's unclear what that arrangement might look like, and whether it will be acceptable to Ukraine and Europe. The White House is lobbying hard for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and a peace deal in Ukraine would be the ultimate feather in his peacemaker cap. Zelensky In an ideal world, Zelensky wants robust U.S. military support and harsh sanctions on Russia, measures he will certainly encourage in Monday's meeting. But he is likely to be more focused on avoiding commitments that undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and security — without infuriating Trump in the process. Trump has regularly said Zelensky shares the blame for Russia's invasion, and following his meeting with Putin on Friday, the U.S. president said it was largely up to Ukraine's leader to make a deal. Zelensky will seek to appear open to a peace agreement, most likely without agreeing to territorial concessions or restrictions on its military and security alliances. He will also try to convince Trump that it's Putin who stands in the way of peace. 'Russia can only be forced into peace through strength, and President Trump has that strength. We have to do everything right to make peace happen,' Zelensky said after meeting with Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, on Monday morning. Trump has agreed to allow the continued flow of U.S. weapons to Ukraine, as long as other NATO allies foot the bill. But he has apparently dropped his threat to impose crushing 'secondary sanctions' on Russia's trading partners after the Alaska summit — at least for now. Prior to the Alaska summit, Trump had grown increasingly frustrated with Putin's refusal to stop his attacks on Ukraine. Zelensky and European leaders will remind Trump that this is Putin's war, and seek to nudge him back into alignment with their negotiating principles: no formal peace talks without a ceasefire, no restrictions on Ukraine's future security arrangements, and maximum pressure on Putin to strengthen Kyiv's hand in negotiations.
Politico
14 minutes ago
- Politico
Zelenskyy heads back to the Oval — with European backing
But for all of Trump's avidity, and the outward deference of Europeans and Zelenskyy himself, Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart. Putin, who continues to speak of Ukraine as an existential threat to Russia, has floated a plan to end the war if Ukraine cedes more of the Donbas region to Russia, including territory Putin's military doesn't currently occupy. Trump, who went into his Friday meeting aligned with Ukraine and Europe in pushing for a ceasefire as a prerequisite for peace talks, has quickly shifted that stance. In the days since leaving Alaska, the president has stated that he now believes a ceasefire, which Putin opposes, isn't necessary first and that the two sides should move right into the harder negotiations to end the conflict permanently. Trump could have an opening if Zelenskyy agreed to freeze the conflict along the current battle lines. A Ukrainian familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to discuss the private conversations, indicated that Zelenskyy would likely be willing to accept such terms, which would result in Russia acquiring some of Ukraine's territory, but that he'll reject Putin's more audacious proposal to take additional Ukrainian territory Russian troops don't currently hold. In social media posts on Sunday, Trump again put the onus on Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war, dismissing any possibility of it getting back Crimea or eventually joining NATO, the 32-country transatlantic alliance that would effectively guarantee Ukraine's security. Zelenskyy, upon arriving in Washington, responded in a post on X that past security guarantees promised to Ukraine have proven ineffective, while reiterating his desire for peace. 'I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance. Russia must end this war, which it itself started,' Zelenskyy wrote. According to a Ukrainian official familiar with the negotiations, Zelenskyy is eager to find out the details of potential security guarantees that could be included in an eventual deal. 'We will not recognize the occupation. The situation regarding compromises is broader, but we will not withdraw our troops,' said another Ukrainian official familiar with negotiations and granted anonymity to discuss them. 'We will find out what details of possible security guarantees and whether Trump seriously pressured Putin into a trilateral format where everything can really be discussed.' Trump and Putin said little following their meeting about the specifics of their discussion. According to the White House official, Putin didn't agree to any specific security guarantees for Ukraine, but signaled that he 'understands that security guarantees have to be on the table for the Ukrainians.'
