The Panavia Tornado is designed for strike missions (though the ADV variant of it was designed as an interceptor). The F-35A is a multirole fighter like the F-16, but the Tornado also carries B61 tactical nukes and the F-35 isn't a dedicated attack aircraft. What I was saying is that Germany would have availed itself of ordering a US-built nuclear delivery system to replace the Tornado by working with the UK in the 1990s on developing a new-generation VTOL strike aircraft (combining elements of the VAK 191B and unbuilt British Aerospace P.1214) for carrying conventional and B61 nuclear bombs. After all, the Airbus A400M, Dassault Rafale, and Eurofighter Typhoon have shown that mainland Europe since the late Cold War doesn't necessarily have to depend on the US aerospace industry for its air combat and air mobility needs.
Yes, Europe has a aerospace industry, however one should perhaps re-examine what one is suggesting.
Firstly, does (or did) Germany have a capability requirement for a VTOL strike jet back in the 1990's? If not, then did Germany have an aircraft requirement where a VTOL capability would be advantageous? Having only taken a cursory look it would seem that the answer was either a "no," or a "yes, but not worth enough to fund."
There are also a number of other factors which IMO would make the suggestion above rather fanciful. In the 1990's the Cold War was effectively over, so some of the funding which had been directed towards defence programmes were now being redirected elsewhere. Further, Germany had just been reunited so there were all the costs and work associated with the reunification, as well as all the military kit that had been in service with the GDR (IIRC Germany might still have some stockpiles of ex-GDR ordnance).
Going beyond that, the Panavia Tornado was still in production during the 1990's, with production not ending until 1998. One effect of that design still having been in production at the time is that it would be years before the design would be due for replacement, and potentially a few decades before the end production models would need replacement. Absent a new or emerging capability need, there would not be a logical reason to join or form a multi-national consortium to develop a new type of combat jet.
Going further still, apart from Saab and Dassault, the modern advanced combat jets produced in Europe over the last few decades have been the work of multi-national consortiums. This at least in part because the costs involved in developing new advanced combat aircraft are quite high, whilst the numbers required by different Euro states are too low for many of the Euro nations to individually be able to sustain full domestic R&D and production capabilities. Going further with that, the consortium programme which led to the Eurofighter Typhoon (and the Dassault Rafale BTW) was started back in the 1980's, with what became the Typhoon achieving first flight in 1994, did not enter service until 2003. Had Germany recognized early on that a suitable nuclear strike replacement for the Tornado would be needed in the 2020's, then perhaps a nuclear strike capability could have been designed into the Typhoon back in the 90's, before it began production.
It takes time, money and resources to develop and then build advanced military hardware like combat jets, with bespoke or unusual capability requires adding to the difficulty and cost in development. Sometimes the want or need prove to be less than what the expected developmental costs will be, and therefore existing programmes get cancelled or never end begin. Other times, particularly following changes in strategic outlook, a programme might get cancelled or cut back because what is being developed is no longer relevant or appropriate for existing or emergent threats. A very good example of this would be the US B-2 Spirit, with only 21 aircraft built out of the originally planned 165.
As a side note, it might be a good idea to look at the time, cost, and trouble encountered with developing new military aircraft generally, and the expereinces of Euro aerospace consortiums specifically.
