Will the F-35 soar over Finland, Switzerland and the Czech Republic? (U.S. Air Force/ Joshua D. King)
Breaking Defense: F-35 faces stiff competition as European nations decide on future fighters
Politics, diplomacy complicate decisions by Finland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland when it comes to the F-35 versus other American and international competitors.
KIEV: Over the next few years, a trio of European nations will make major decisions on their future fighter aircraft, meaning a potential impact on the long-term American/European fighter market — and whether European manufacturers can rack up wins against the nearly undefeated F-35 — looms.
As always, the usual considerations — how much capability can be acquired at what price, what is the long-term cost of ownership, which of the manufacturers can offer the most workshare and domestic politics — will come into play. But the three nations in question all have unique attributes that could pose challenges to the US fifth-gen fighter.
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WNU Editor: The F-35 is not only a very expensive fighter jet to buy, but the maintenance costs are massive. This is something that I am sure these prospective buyers are factoring in before making their decision.
5 comments:
Unfounded/inaccurate statement. The Eurofighter costs $118m a copy and its CPFH is over $100,000. A combat capable F-15EX will cost $101m+ a copy - every jet must be fitted with EPAWS and a targeting pod)... and it is estimated to cost $28k+ a flight hour. The F-35A is fully operational at $79m a jet and its CPFH is just over $30k and falling. When you compare fighters that are in or near production, the F-35A beats or is competitive in price to those 4+ generation fighters and as a 5th gen fighter, its the only one that will viable in the next major war.
"In a vacuum, the F-35A, the Air Force’s version of the jet, costs $78 million. That’s actually not a bad price for the jet; when adjusted for inflation, it’s relatively close to the original quoted cost of $50 million.
But that’s not the problem here. Rather, the Pentagon’s headaches start after the Air Force receives the F-35. At the time the GAO wrote the report, all three versions of the F-35 cost $38,000 per hour to fly. That’s significantly higher than what the Pentagon originally thought it would pay.
The GAO estimates that by 2036, the Pentagon could be forking over an extra $6 billion per year than it thought it would pay to fly the 2,443 planes it plans to purchase. That’s enough to buy 76 brand-new F-35As every year."
So yeah. Not cheap. Not even cheaper than the other jets.
And sitting ducks to boot what with their stationary and very targettable bases.
Lol @ Europe. Maybe Russia but Europe? Future aircraft? I have my doubts. Eurofighter is certainly respectable but not the future.
Also, not much of a fan of the F-35. The future will more likely (I hope) be from a cheaper, better near future US fighter.
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