Something went wrong. Obviously not, because even the foreign press started talking about the fact that the F-35 "is not a cake".
In general, around this plane there are a lot of opinions of all sorts of "experts" who are trying to convey their opinion to readers and viewers.
We will not touch our Chinese colleagues, who recently quite categorically compared the F-35 and Su-57. They did not sit at the controls of either the American plane or the Russian one. So - fortune telling on the coffee grounds, nothing more.
But what Andrew Cockburn wrote in the British magazine The Spectator is noteworthy. The British, after all, and in the Royal Air Force the F-35 is not only in service, it is the F-35B that is counted on when equipping aircraft-carrying troughs of the Queen Elizabeth type.
So what angered the low-key Briton?
Andrew was outraged by the communique of the last NATO summit. In general, there is nothing new there, the Russian threat, which is constantly growing and therefore requires constant attention from NATO members, and China, which seems to be not openly threatening yet, but its growing power also raises concerns.
In general, there are enemies all around. A familiar topic, isn't it?
More joyfully (not for everyone, though) was the information that 24 members of the bloc spend more than 20% of their defense budgets on heavy weapons. And the hope was expressed that others would soon join this cheerful company.
But we are interested in the main seven European participants who purchase so-called heavy weapons. Interestingly, this weapon most often turns out to be … yes, the F-35.
When I said a little higher that the news is not good for everyone, I meant that everything is great for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and they rub their hands in anticipation of profit. The same cannot be said about clients.
This is where an interesting story begins to unfold.
The UK, Italy, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Denmark have ordered a total of 297 F-35 aircraft for a total of $ 35.4 billion. And this is only a fraction of the amount, because the planes will require maintenance, which will also cost more than one billion as long as these F-35s fly.
The F-35 cannot be called an aircraft that is all right. Yes, the plane is not without flaws, but not as outright a nightmare as its predecessor, the F-22. Still, the Lightning 2 is a more acceptable weapon than the Raptor. There are, of course, many shortcomings, everyone speaks about it openly and nobody makes secrets out of it.
Another question is that flaws are normal for an aircraft under development. But for an aircraft that has already begun to be exported, it looks strange.
The F-35's well-known list of shortcomings and imperfections is impressive. And, of course, it is surprising that the Europeans rushed to conclude supply contracts.
Andrew Cockburn is outraged by the numbers of contracts that have been concluded by countries, including the UK. He believes that the acquisition of the F-35 will weaken the defenses of the countries, since the planes will burn the budgets of the defense ministries in their chambers as easily as kerosene.
Yes, there are interesting nuances. Why, for example, Denmark has as many as 27 Lightnings. Who is Denmark going to fight with? With Russia or China? Okay, Russia looks preferable. Closer. But even on the territory of Russia, the F-35 is not able to fly without refueling in the air or using additional fuel tanks.
But the extra tanks will eat up 2 of the 6 external suspension points. The question arises: with what set of weapons will the Danish F-35 fly to conquer Russia?
Of course, it is possible that it will be necessary to repel the attack of Russian planes that will fly into Danish airspace. The question "why?" remains open.
Meanwhile, 27 units of the F-35 will cost the Danish budget "only" $ 13 billion in lifetime operating costs. This, if anything, is almost three annual military budgets of the country.
It is clear that of the 45 F-16 aircraft that make up the backbone of the Danish Air Force, 18 should have been written off back in 2012, and the rest just by 2020. The planes are not new, to put it mildly. But changing the F-16 to the F-35 in such quantities is like taking a Ferrari on credit after the VAZ-2112. You can ride, but it hurts expensive. Although it is significant.
But the Danes could easily get by with something cheaper. "Gripenes", "Rafali", "Tornado" … There is a choice …
The Italians were even less fortunate. Why did they order 90 Lightnings? In Italy, no one, most likely, will be able to answer this question. And the crisis was blowing, and as a result there was not enough money, Lockheed Martin suspends deliveries, because Italy owes 600 million dollars for the planes already sent.
And Cockburn's compatriots flew in full. Having received the first batch of F-35A for the RAF, the British built their entire naval program around the F-35B. And then everything began at once: the crisis, and the problems with the F-35B, and a hundred misfortunes at the same time.
As a result, the deck of the first Royal Navy aircraft carrier, Queen Elizabeth, is still empty. And in the eastern seas, to demonstrate to the Chinese its power, the aircraft carrier went with aircraft leased from the US Marine Corps. It's good that they borrowed, and that bread …
The program is delayed, time is running out, the Russian threat is growing … And then the Chinese one is on its way, apparently.
Of all NATO, only the Turks very gracefully "jumped off" by purchasing the Russian S-400 air defense systems. As a result, they stayed with both the air defense system and their F-15s. Although there were thoughts about purchasing the F-35. But I was lucky, I guess.
Even a British journalist is surprised at this policy of European governments. Cockburn calls it a lemming-style resignation, jumping one by one into the abyss. Into the financial abyss of dependence on Americans. And with might and main criticizes the appallingly bad F-35, fit only to destroy the budget.
However, Cockburn for some reason does not say a word about those F-35s that were acquired by Israel. For some reason, Israeli aircraft regularly carry out combat missions to combat the enemies of the state.
The pragmatic Israelis first purchased 9 aircraft. Then another 6. The total number of F-35s that will serve in the Israeli Air Force is 50 aircraft. And scandals are not raging around the Israeli F-35s. Airplanes fly, bomb, launch rockets. No losses so far. Strange, isn't it?
Yes, let's not sin against the truth, the F-35A of Israel is not really an F-35A. It is equipped with Israeli "stuffing" in terms of avionics and combat systems. According to some reports, the aircraft will be equipped with the C4 system with an open architecture, Israeli Command, Control, Communications and Computing. The radar sights and avionics will be Israeli. Israeli companies Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries have developed protective systems for the aircraft. Well, their missiles and bombs.
But these innovations do not affect flight characteristics. And such aircraft should be supplied to the Israeli Air Force from 2020.
Yes, most likely, Israel will receive its F-35s in part through the Camp David Agreement. But here, excuse me, in this world everyone settles down to the best of their ability.
What turns out, the aircraft for military operations is quite suitable for Israel, but somehow not quite for the European states?
The key word is "fighting". Israel is at war, and there are always goals and missions for its aircraft. European countries are not fighting. Except for entertainment with ISIS (banned in the Russian Federation) in Syria, there is nothing else to do.
There seems to be a clue here. Israel took planes to fight. And if "finalized with a hammer and a file," then the F-35 quite copes with the tasks assigned to it. At least in the Israeli press there are no screams and groans about the fact that the Lightnings should be sent to a landfill.
Why did the Europeans order the F-35 in such quantities? In order to reduce the cost of the aircraft in the series, as one of the options. Well, or for a war with Russia. The war with Russia is such a thing that may never start. And the planes have already been purchased …
In general, the burden of an ally is not always light and pleasant. It is clear that sooner or later, Lockheed Martin will bring the F-35 to mind. This plane is not as hopeless as the F-22. Until that moment, the military of European countries will have to bear the burden of the costs of maintaining not quite suitable for combat and very expensive aircraft.
Well, everyone has their own difficulties in this world, Mr. Cockburn …
