Based on the official Order 27/97 an inspection was celebrated at Laage on 18th of September 1997 with the attendance of the German Defence Minister Volker Ruehe to award the based unit with the traditional name Jagdgeschwader 73 ‘Steinhoff’ (Fighter Wing 73) to commemorate the former General Johannes Steinhoff.

Due to the abolition of the threat from the east, the German reunification and the following economy measures, it was obvious that also the Luftwaffe was urged to save money by closures of bases and retirement of aircraft types. So the unification of both detachments of the JG 73 with the 16 F-4Fs from Pferdsfeld and the 24 MiG-29s at Laage was settled. The first Squadron flew with the famous MiG-29 and the second with the F-4F Phantom, that were transferred from Pferdsfeld to Laage in 1997 as 732 Squadron.

The base of Pferdsfeld was closed soon afterwards but the tradition of the JG 73 continued at Laage, 38 years after this unit was erected in December 1959 at Alhorn with the F-86 Sabre. In 1961 the Wing moved to Pferdsfeld and with changing the primary role from air policing to close air support the unit was renamed in Jagdbombergeschwader JaboG 42 (Fighter-bomber Wing 42) and got new aircraft, the Fiat G-91. The next step was the introducing of the F-4F Phantom II in 1975 and the Wing was renamed again, this time into JaboG 35. The JaboG 35 was finally disbanded in 1994 and the thread was completed with the rename into Jagdgeschwader 73.

Laage was now the most interesting unit in the German Luftwaffe and within the NATO with a unique mixture of western and eastern build fighter aircraft that flew side by side.

In the beginning of the new century the introducing of the Eurofighter, the most modern aircraft within the NATO was in sight. So the German Luftwaffe started to retire a part of the Phantom fleet. In 2002, the second squadron of the JG 73 was disbanded and its Phantoms were given to other F-4 units or were scrapped. The MiGs still stayed at Laage for air policing duties due to some delay in the delivery of the Eurofighter.
The year 2003 was the last year for the ‘Fulcrum’ crews to proof the agility of their famous Eastern Block fighter. Therefore, many guests from other NATO units were visiting Laage for training but also the MiG-29s made a farewell tour to the USA to join different exercises.

In October 2003, the first five of 22 MiG-29s (one MiG was lost in accident and one stayed in Germany) were handed over to the Polish Air Force and on 4th of August 2004, the remaining nine MiG-29s were ready for the last flight after more than 13 years of duty in the German Luftwaffe. About 14:30, the last three of the “Fulcrums” took off from Laage with direction Poland where most of the aircraft were integrated into the 41. Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego at Malbork after an overhaul at Bydgoszcz.

With the Eurofighter in sight, the base infrastructure was modernized and a new hangar system was build, the so-called six-packs. Every aircraft is parked into a single hall-segment that is fitted with all ground equipment to prepare the aircraft for the flight, so a sortie could be conducted directly out of the hangar and after coming back to the base the aircraft will taxi directly into the hangar again.

On 26th of April 2004, the introduction of the first seven double seated Eurofighters the JG 73 started and the former F-4 squadron was reactivated again as EF 2000 training and operational conversion squadron. Therefore, Laage was unique again as first EF 2000 unit within the German Luftwaffe. All aircraft delivered in April and May 2004 covered already the installation of the in-flight refuelling package, changes to the electrical system and a software update. The single-seaters delivered since April 2005 were already equipped with the Production Software Package (PSP) 2 with additional functions of the Captor radar for a better air situation display, and the IFF system. Also the basic systems of the multi-functional information distribution system (MIDS) for the instantaneous exchange of data with other aircraft or ground stations were integrated, likewise the direct voice input system (DVI) that was still limited by the syntax to a few commands at that time. Finally, 33 Eurofighters, 12 of them two-seaters were expected at Laage.

Ten Service Instructor Pilots (SIPs) were trained by EADS in 2003 and 2004 in order to create training documentation and manuals. All further instructor pilot training for this type with the German Air Force was than conducted at Laage, which also included the pilot training of the Austrian Air Component that introduced the first aircraft on 12th July 2007 into the Austrian Eurofighter unit at Zeltweg.

After completing the basic flying training in the USA all future Eurofighter pilots have to undergo the conversion and advance training at Laage. The initial course runs for six months with academic training for approximately five weeks, followed by about two weeks of simulator training. Ground handling is the final stage before the first flight in the twin seat Eurofighter.

Apart from the training and trial tasks the JG 73 ‘S’  is also involved in the air policing to protect Germanys airspace together with both other fighter units, the JG 71 at Wittmund and JG 74 at Neuburg. For this duty, the new IRIS-T missile was introduced in December 2005 in a small ceremony conducted at Laage. The IRIS-T development was carried out by Germany, Italy, Greece, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Compared to its predecessor generation of short-range air-to-air missiles, the IRIS-T offers thrust vector control, imaging IR-seeker with much wider acquisition range, considerably improved resistance to countermeasures (IRCM and DIRCM), lock-on after launch and a 360 degree around engagement capability.