"Expensive and unreliable": the British edition criticized the American fifth generation fighter F-35
The American company Lockheed Martin can feel joy - its F-35 fighters are massively purchased by NATO member states. However, this only makes a profit for the United States, since the plane is expensive and unreliable, writes the author of an article for the British edition of The Spectator.
Andrew Coburn criticized the American fighter jet that the United States is forcing to buy its European partners. Seven European countries have ordered a total of 297 F-35 fighters for a total of $ 35,4 billion, he said. And if you take into account the very expensive maintenance, then a bunch of billions more will fall into the US pocket.
The author emphasizes that after 20 years of development, the F-35 is still not certified, even in the Pentagon's own test bureau. To date, 871 "unresolved deficiencies" have been found on the aircraft, 10 of which are recognized as life-threatening. The plane is so sophisticated that it is considered unreliable. It takes time and money to fix the deficiencies, but instead, the US is trying to sell the fighter to as many countries as possible, thereby trying to get the maximum benefit.
Coburn writes that the F-35, according to military experts, is inferior in efficiency even to the F-16, which, according to the Pentagon's plans, was supposed to be replaced. Moreover, it is expensive and will "eat up a hole" in the budgets of those countries to whom it was imposed. As an example, the author cites Denmark, which has signed a contract for 27 F-35 fighters. Taking into account the operational costs of maintenance, the purchase of these fighters will cost Denmark $ 13 billion, which is two and a half times the defense budget of this country.
The author especially criticizes the British military, who made the F-35 the main fighter of the Navy, and even built aircraft carriers for it, which other aircraft cannot carry. At the same time, the lead aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth went to "confront China" with the American F-35s of the US Marine Corps.
To summarize, Coburn writes that he does not understand the submissiveness with which NATO countries buy this fighter, even if the Pentagon and Congress call it a "disaster."
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