The Focke-Wulf Ta 154 Moskito was a fast twin-engined night fighter aircraft designed by the German aeronautical engineer Kurt Tank and produced by the aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf. It was unofficially named Moskito due to its similarities with the de Havilland Mosquito (which was also largely made of wood) that were already in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The Ta 154 commenced development in 1942 and was worked on during much of the latter half of the Second World War. It was designed to replace variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Junkers Ju 88 and function as a specialised night fighter. As per a stipulation issued by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM), wood comprised over half of the material needed to build the Ta 154. A special phenolic resin adhesive called Tego film was used to bond sections together. It was originally designated Ta 211 in reference to the intended Jumo 211R engine, although it was subsequently decided to adopt the more powerful Jumo 213 powerplant instead. Following a review of Focke-Wulf's submission, a development contract was issued to the company during late 1942.

On 1 July 1943, the prototype Ta 154 V1 performed its maiden flight; it was piloted by Kurt Tank. One of the early prototypes undertook competitive flight testing against both the Heinkel He 219 and the Junkers Ju 388, besting both of these rival aircraft. During March 1944, even though the first eight pre-production aircraft were yet to be completed, the Jägerstab decreed that 37 Ta 154s ought to be completed by May 1944 and that 250 aircraft were to be produced each month by November 1944. This schedule proved highly unrealistic in light of various technical and logistical issues, with key parts (such as engines) not being available in sufficient quantity. Perhaps most crucially, the only factory that produced Tego-Film, in Wuppertal, was bombed by the RAF while replacement bonding agents proved to be inferior and a source of catastrophic mid-flight structural failures.

During September 1944, amid a complete production stoppage, the RLM opted to terminate the Ta 154 programme. Only a few production standard aircraft were completed, and these proved to possess less impressive performance than the prototypes. Several pre-production aircraft were also converted for operational use. Several Ta 154s were flown by Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (Night Fighter Wing 3) while a handful are believed to have been also used as training aircraft for jet pilots. Furthermore, at least three Pulkzerstörer (Formation Destroyer) and Mistel parasite fighter schemes were mooted for the type.

The origins of the Ta 154 Moskito is closely linked to the wartime demands of the Luftwaffe. In 1942, it had become increasing clear that, amid increasingly intense Allied bombardment of Germany, a new type of night fighter was desirable to replace both the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Junkers Ju 88. One such aircraft, the Heinkel He 219, was already in development, however, during September 1942, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) issued a fresh requirement that called for a specialised night fighter that, unlike the He 219, would be primarily constructed out of wood. The intended benefit of this decision was not only as an economic measure to minimise the use of metal but also to take advantage of Germany's available labour pool, which had numerous skilled woodworkers that had not effectively transitioned to metalworking.

This requirement was received by the German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf, who quickly decided to undertake work towards fulfilling it. A Bremen-based design team at the firm, headed by Kurt Tank, set about studying a fast attack-bomber aircraft that had been initially designated Ta 211 (due to its planned use of an uprated Jumo 211R engine). The envisioned Ta 21 bomber was a high-wing twin-engined design, built primarily of plywood and bonded with a special phenolic resin adhesive called Tego film. The material composition of the basic design included approximately 57 per cent wood, 30 per cent steel, and 13 per cent duralumin. Both single-seat and twin-seat variants were proposed at a relatively early stage.

Due to the scarcity of steel tubing, both the primary and auxiliary spars made use of wood box construction while extensive use of wood bonding was made across the whole airframe. A retractable nose-wheel undercarriage was selected, the main gear of which retracted rearwards into recesses within the engine nacelles while the nose gear pivoted backwards into the fuselage. Furthermore, it was fitted with broad diameter tyres as to permit the aircraft to use grass airstrips. It had a stepped cockpit canopy, the windscreen of which was composed of armoured glass; an additional 150 kg of armour was strategically distributed around the cockpit to protect its occupant(s). Dependent upon the variant, the cockpit contained a single pilot and a radio/radar operator, the latter just aft of the former. Fuel was housed in a pair of fuselage tanks, one was located directly aft of the primary wing spar while the other was just behind the auxiliary spar.

By 14 October 1942, the basic calculations were complete; layout drawings were completed five days later. The RLM warmly received Focke-Wulf's proposal and promptly issued a general development contract. It was at this stage that the Ta 154 designation was applied to the aircraft; unofficially, it was named Moskito in reference to its similarity to the de Havilland Mosquito fast bombers (which was also largely made of wood) already in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). Around this time, the de Havilland Mosquito, was conducting missions upon Germany itself and was quickly building up an impressive record; in its first 600 bombing missions, only one was shot down, compared to an average of five per cent for the RAF's medium and heavy bombers. Erhard Milch personally requested a purpose-built German answer, and selected the Ta 154. Infighting within German circles started almost immediately, because the RLM and night fighter units — as well as Ernst Heinkel himself — still wanted the Heinkel He 219. Milch took this personally, and spent the better part of the next two years trying to have the He 219 program terminated, partly against Ernst Heinkel's wishes.^{[citation needed]}