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Politics First: Why Belgian Defense Tenders Favor the US F-35s

© AP Photo / Northrop GrummanIsrael to buy about 100 state-of-the-art F-35 Joint Strike Fighter warplanes from the United States
Israel to buy about 100 state-of-the-art F-35 Joint Strike Fighter warplanes from the United States - Sputnik International
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According to French business magazine Challenges, Paris decided to pull out from a Belgian tender to replace the country’s fleet of F-16 fighter planes and withdrew its initial offer of Rafale jets because the terms of the competition actually favored America’s F-35s.

The fifth-generation US fighter is being considered even though it costs more than the Rafale and despite the Belgian Defense Ministry’s firm belief that the F-35 is too expensive and the country should look for more affordable options.

“As a fourth-generation plane, the Rafale is cheaper, is more available and is easier to fly. However, contracts like this are more about military strategic and political cooperation between countries than the technical characteristics of a given plane,” Alexandre Vautravers, an expert with the Institute for European Prospective and Security (IPSE), told Sputnik.

In this Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, file photo, an F-35 jet arrives at its new operational base at Hill Air Force Base, in northern Utah. - Sputnik International
UK Navy to Have 24 F-35 'Frontline Fighters' on HMS Queen Elizabeth by 2023
He added that new Belgian government is under pressure from its NATO allies to go for the F-35s, which have already been supplied to Denmark, the Netherlands and some other countries.

”However, the F-35 should not cost more than $30 million, but right now the price tag is between $150 million and 160 million,” he noted.
Vautravers added that many countries which once staked on the F-35 are no longer able to pay the bill.

”The Dutch have realized the difference between their desire to buy an excellent plane and its exorbitant price for a country like theirs. Still, together with the Italians and the British, they are  trying to force Belgium to buy the F-35s they themselves can no longer afford, ” he noted.

”The Americans are go-getters. Their F-35 program envisaged the sale of US warplanes during the 1960s and 1970. They needed to secure a list of potential [European] buyers to make up for the losses they incurred under the Marshall Plan. This dependence has been around since the 1960s, so it’s nothing new,” Alexandre Vautravers concluded.

It may be seven years late and $160 billion over budget, but the F-35 fighter - the most expensive piece of fighting equipment in history - may finally make its official debut this summer. - Sputnik International
More, More, More! Israel Signs Deal for 17 Additional F-35 Jets
Lockheed Martin, the F-35’s maker, argues that increasing the number of global F-35 shipments will help reduce the cost of the fifth-generation fighter for all parties involved, due to economies of scale.

In March, the company’s F-35 program director Jeff Babione called for the US and its allies to step up their yearly purchases to help Lockheed make their goal of an $80 million jet by 2020 a reality.

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