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At the same time that the F-104 was falling out of U.S. favor, the [[German Air Force]] was looking for a foreign-designed multi-role combat aircraft to operate in support of a missile defense system.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1958/1958%20-%200185.html "Wingless Deterrent."] ''Flight'' 14 February 1958, p. 95, via ''flightglobal.com.'' Retrieved: 27 June 2010.</ref> 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 Lightning]], [[Grumman F11F Super Tiger]], and [[Northrop F-5|Northrop N-156]].<ref>{{Cite |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1958/1958%20-%200070.html |title=First Things First: On Not seeing the Sales Trees for the Reorganization Woods. |work=[[Flight International|Flight]] |number=2556 |volume=73|date=17 January 1958 |page= 72 |accessdate=27 June 2010 |format=pdf ||first= |last="a Special Correspondent"}}.</ref>{{failed verification|date=November 2016}} The Starfighter found a new market with other [[Member states of NATO|NATO countries]] as well, and eventually a total of 2,578 of all variants of the F-104 were built in the U.S. and abroad for various nations. Several countries received their aircraft under the U.S. government-funded Military Aid Program (MAP). The American engine was retained but built under license in Europe, Canada, and Japan. The Lockheed ejector seats were retained initially but were replaced later in some countries by the safer Martin-Baker seat.
The so-called "Deal of the Century" produced substantial income for Lockheed. However, the resulting bribery scandals caused considerable political controversy in Europe and Japan. In 1976, a U.S. Senate investigating committee led by [[Senator Frank Church]] determined that Lockheed had paid US$22 million in bribes to foreign officials during the negotiations process of the sale of its aircraft, including the the F-104 Starfighter. In Germany, Minister of Defence [[Franz Josef Strauss]] was accused of having received at least US$10 million for West Germany's purchase of the F-104
The international service of the F-104 began to wind down in the late 1970s, being replaced in many cases by the [[General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon]], but it remained in service with some air forces for another two decades. The last operational Starfighters served with the Italian Air Force, which retired them on 31 October 2004.<ref name="AviationistLastStarfighter">{{cite web|last1=Cenciotti|first1=David|title=The last ever operative flight of the legendary F-104 Starfighter, 12 years ago today|url=https://theaviationist.com/2016/10/31/the-last-ever-operative-flight-of-the-legendary-f-104-starfighter-12-years-ago-today/|website=The Aviationist|publisher=The Aviationist|accessdate=4 July 2017|ref=AviationistLastStarfighter}}</ref>
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