Terwijl er driftig wordt gediscussieerd over het beperken van dure medische verzorging, claimt defensie met extra propaganda van de overheid en vooral de media over mogelijke oorlogen die men dolgraag zou willen voeren, extra geld voor 'defensie' lees 'offensieve oorlogen'. En net als in de zorg gaan de kosten voor defensie flink omhoog, want beide zijn een industrie. Geen overheid die eraan denkt om de kosten te drukken bij de bron; want omzet daar gaat het om in een neoliberaal imperium.
Het blijft modderen met de F-35, de problemen en de kosten blijven stijgen. Zover zelfs dat Lockheed Martin een supportpagina heeft om Amerikaanse burgers aan te zetten het Congres om meer steun te vragen. Zover is het al gekomen. Geen zinnig mens zou zijn handen branden aan zo'n megalomaan project. Maar onze rechtsdraaiende legertop is vanzelfsprekend zo fors geïndoctrineerd dat alleen een Amerikaans toestel een optie is. Wie kent nog de geschiedenis van de F-104's die als vliegen uit de lucht vielen en waarbij ook omkopingsschandalen aan het licht kwamen (waar Prins Bernhard bij betrokken was)? Welke notabelen en militairen zouden nu omgekocht kunnen zijn? Mogelijk is het nu een geval van duchtige Amerikaanse pressie.
Misschien is de keuze van de F-35 nog zo gek niet; als ze zo ondeugdelijk zijn zal hun gevechtskracht evenredig klein zijn, minder schade dus. Hoewel, een ongelukje met een nucleaire lading boven de randstad is niet aan te raden. In 2019 zou de eerste operationele F-35 worden geleverd aan Nederland... als hij ooit operationeel wordt. Van de 37 aangekochte vliegtuigen zouden er dagelijks maar 4 inzetbaar zijn; 5 ervan zouden permanent in de VS blijven (vreemd, gaat Nederland het Amerikaans luchtruim daar beschermen?).
VoltaireNet: "Since the launch of the project, its cost has varied ceaselessly, leading to the cancellation of various orders. Earlier this month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a reassuring study, however based on figures already two years old. Simultaneously, the Department of Defense assured it would be cheaper to buy but more expensive to maintain.
According to an independent Canadian study by Professor Michael Byers for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Rideau Institute, the truth is much darker: in truth, no one can know the exact cost of an aircraft that has not been precisely designed. However, the 65 aircraft ordered by Canada would likely cost a staggering $ 1.5 billion USD per aircraft over 40 years (in 2007, the United States assured that the aircraft would not cost more than the F-18 and estimated its cost at about 377 million dollars each)."
The Plane That Ate the Canadian Military. Life-Cycle Cost of F-35 Fleet Could Reach $126 Billion, par Michel Byers, Centre canadien de politiques alternatives, March 2014:
"Under the “moderate” scenario developed here, Canada could only purchase 45 planes while staying under the $9 billion limit. Under the “serious” scenario, Canada could purchase only 34 planes."
NYTimes: "The F-35 fighter jet was expected to be exhibited at an international air show a few weeks ago — a chance for America to showcase its state-of-the-art war plane, the world’s most expensive weapons project. But, in an embarrassing turn of events, the star-crossed, single-engine F-35 was a no-show.
Instead of making its debut at the event in Farnborough, England — where government officials, defense contractors and experts gather annually to ogle new aviation technology — the plane was back in the United States, crippled by the latest in a series of setbacks.
Some experts say the Pentagon could save money and still ensure that America has a better plane than its adversaries by buying fewer F-35s and more of the F-15, F-16 and F-18 fighter jets already in the arsenal and modernizing the A-10 Warthog, a ground-attack plane. Others propose halting F-35 purchases until operational testing is completed in 2019 and everyone has a clearer sense of the plane’s strengths and weaknesses. "
CNBC: "The F-35 has come to symbolize all that's wrong with American defense spending: uncontrolled bloat, unaccountable manufacturers (in this case, Lockheed Martin), and an internal Pentagon culture that cannot adequately track taxpayer dollars.
"A single Air Force F-35A costs a whopping $148 million. One Marine Corps F-35B costs an unbelievable $251 million. A lone Navy F-35C costs a mind-boggling $337 million. Average the three models together, and a 'generic' F-35 costs $178 million," Wheeler wrote.
"It gets worse. These are just the production costs. Additional expenses for research, development, test and evaluation are not included," he added.
Of course, this price tag is up dramatically from 2014.
"The cost of an F-35B grew from $232 million in 2014 to a bulging $251 million by 2015," Wheeler wrote. "The cost of the Navy's F35C grew from $273 million in 2014 to a wallet-busting $337 million by 2015." "
De prijs van JSF testtoestellen
Gripen4Canada: "Although it was supposedly designed to be "affordable", seemingly every independent review of its operating costs put the costs of the single-engined F-35 as above and beyond that of comparable twin engine fighters like the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale. Against single engine fighters like the F-16 and Gripen, the cost differences are even more pronounced.
Given the F-35's lackluster specs, high price, and limited versatility... Maybe its time to consider something different?"