Also becoming an F-35 partner is really attractive due to industry participation. The program is huge. If your industry can participate, that’s a significant cash-back. - ThreadSky

frankkuhn.bsky.social • 4 days ago

Also becoming an F-35 partner is really attractive due to industry participation. The program is huge. If your industry can participate, that’s a significant cash-back.

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hegghammer.net•4 days ago

But all the countries selling fighter jets offered cooperation and cashback. The difference was the US was the more attractive partner, in no small part for geopolitical reasons

hegghammer.net•4 days ago

Here's a headline in the main Norwegian newspaper from 2021 describing the F35 as "the Ferrari of the air", citing costings from Jane's and Air Force Magazine https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/i/we2m9G/beskrives-som-luftens-ferrari-og-koster-naer-300000-kroner-i-timen

frankkuhn.bsky.social•4 days ago

The Gripen is really cheap in terms of operating cost. But the F-35 is not that much more expensive than say a Eurofighter or Rafale: https://stratpost.com/gripen-operational-cost-lowest-of-all-western-fighters-janes/ (I couldn’t find any more recent estimates).

frankkuhn.bsky.social•4 days ago

The Swiss armament agency also found that both total and sustainment costs were cheapest for the F-35. It also found that the F-35 required 20% less flight hours than other types: https://backend.ar.admin.ch/fileservice/sdweb-docs-prod-arch-files/files/2024/07/28/d379f099-8afc-452f-864c-4318ded0a448.pdf#page9

arnfinnp.bsky.social•4 days ago

The F-35 isn't worth much if they can't get into the air because the trumpists switched them off remotely, though.

auroraborealis.bsky.social•4 days ago

There is absolutely no proof that can happen. Keep in mind that the F-35 was built and designed long before Trump even took office the first term.

hbreistein.bsky.social•4 days ago

Yeah as I remember it, the SAAB industrial package was really one for the ages while the F-35 one was more of a lottery where our industry *could* win contracts for the entire programme and in sum far exceed value of SAAB one. Not sure how it shook out beyond the KDA tail rudders and JSMs.

frankkuhn.bsky.social•4 days ago

Yes, for the F-35, industry needs to compete to win the contract. High risk, high reward.

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