Kiel, Germany (dpa) - Germany‘s air force plans to start relocating six Tornado reconnaissance jets to Turkey as soon as next week.Air force officers at Jagel air force base in the far north of Germany withheld details until Friday afternoon, after Germany‘s parliament had authorized the military to join in the international mission against the Islamic State.Tactical Air Squadron 51 from Jagel, which has been tasked with sending planes, has been making preparations all this week to send jets to Incirlik air base in Turkey. The first reconnaissance flights over Syria would not take place until next month.The squadron at Jagel operates 23 of the jets, originally designed for all-weather ground attack, and officers say it will send at least four of them. Pods containing cameras and infra-red sensors are attached to the jets for reconnaissance work.It remains unclear if a similar squadron at Buechel air force base in western Germany will also be tapped to send planes.A Defence Ministry statement this week said that out of 93 Tornado jets belonging to the German air force, 66 are operable, but only 29 were ready for full military deployment.
