COSTS JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER UNCONTROLABLE

An American ex-minister of defence warned the Dutch that the costs of the production of the American fighter plane the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will be at least 22 percent higher. The JSF-project is the largest military project in history and the Dutch participate for 800 million in the development of the new fighter plane making the Dutch one the three largest investors. The costs will now at least rise from a total of 200 billion to 245 billion.

At the time of the decision to participate in the JSF-project was very controversial because it meant that the Dutch would not join the construction of an European fighter plane and through this support the development European defence. Another questionable point was the price per plane. The Pentagon and constructor Lockheed Martin assured the Dutch that the budget would stay with in the 28 million dollars per plane.

Critics argued that the JSF would surely be a lot more expensive and others said that the profit the Dutch would get out of the participation would be too low anyway. In the end it would be more practical and a lot cheaper to postpone the decision and buy the fighter plane from the shelf.

One of the main reasons why the Dutch decided to go for it was the fact that it was the cheapest plane for the replacement of the F16 fighter planes. The Dutch Lower house still has to decide about the purchase of 85 JSF's in the upcoming two years. The American ex-minister of defence advises the Dutch to be very careful with the reassurances of Washington : React with a healthy dose of scepticism if the Pentagon comes with promises. Do your homework well and check if everything is true.'

The ex-defence Minister: There is a large chance that the history will repeat itself. Only two years after the start of the development of the JSF fighter plane the Pentagon has to admit that the costs rise without any control, while Washington wanted to break with the expensive military project past with a new style arms deal. I fear the project will be delayed with at least 10 years. He sees more dangers. There is for example a large chance that even the Americans will buy less Joint Strike Fighters. This will make the plane a lot more expensive causing a huge financial loss for the involved Dutch industries. more features

April 14, 2004