Romania is also aiming for F-35s, will Lockheed Martin succeed with production?

27 September 20237 months ago babelfish

Romania plans to buy 32 F-35s for $6.5 billion. Strong demand for the Joint Strike Fighter means a production crisis looms, according to a US Air Force general

Interest in the F-35 continues to grow.

Romania plans to purchase 32 latest generation F-35 fighter jets from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The Romanian Ministry of Defense said this on Tuesday, as part of an agreement announced last April. The amount allocated for the program, which includes the purchase of planes, engines, logistical support and pilot training services, is 6.5 billion dollars, the most expensive in the history of the Romanian army.

Bucharest is only the latest of many other countries around the world interested in the JSF program.

Strong demand for the stealth Joint Strike Fighter means a production crisis is brewing, General Richard Moore, Air Force vice chief of staff for planning and programming, told Breaking Defense . Will the American defense giant be able to keep up with production?

All the details.

ROMANIA AIMS FOR 32 F-35s

The Ministry of Defense in Bucharest has officially requested Parliament's approval to start the purchase program of 32 F-35s from the United States. Last April the country's Supreme Defense Council (CSAT) made the decision to purchase the US planes.

The framework agreement includes logistics and training services, flight simulators and munitions along with the jets, as well as an option for Romania to subsequently purchase 16 more F-35s.

According to Reuters , final contracts are unlikely to be signed before next year, and Defense Minister Angel Tilvar has said this year that the first planes will not be delivered before 2030.

INTEREST IN THE JSF PROGRAM

The last five years have proven fruitful for Lockheed Martin in Europe, as six countries have selected the American company's fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets. As Defense News recalls, in 2018 Belgium became the first Foreign Military Sales customer of the F-35 from Europe, committing to purchase 34 F-35A aircraft. Two years later, Poland followed with plans to acquire 32 F-35As.

In 2021, Switzerland and Finland each chose the platform to replace their respective F-18 Hornets, with the former committing to 36 aircraft and the latter to 64. And last December 14, the German Ministry of Defense said it was purchasing 35 Lockheed Martin fifth-generation fighters. Without forgetting that last October Austria was considering the fifth generation stealth fighter as a potential replacement for its Eurofighter Typhoon fleet after 2030. And Greece also sent an official request to the United States for the purchase of 20 fighters F-35 in July 2022.

Last June the US State Department approved the sale of F-35s to the Czech Republic. Last year Prague announced its intention to begin negotiations for the potential purchase of 24 jets in a sale worth up to 5, 62 billion dollars.

Without forgetting that in the meantime Israel has also moved to acquire a third squadron of F-35A fighters. The country has adopted the F-35 in the customized “Adir” version. Israel is also the only one in the Middle East to fly them.

On the other hand, this summer the American defense contractor declared that it expected an increase in orders in Europe for its fifth generation fighter.

PRODUCTION NODE FOR LOCKHEED MARTIN?

Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has proven popular around the world, with new countries adding to the program each year and longtime partners increasing their purchases. Therefore a "positive problem", but which also has consequences, not only for the defense giant, but also for its largest customer, the US Air Force, highlights Breaking Defense .

Orders for the jet now exceed Lockheed Martin's production capacity, Gen. Richard Moore, the Air Force's vice chief of staff for planning and programming, told Breaking Defense , as the force wants to increase the rate of purchase for the fifth-generation fighter, a production line at most, combined with budget constraints, means this will not be “possible in the very short term.”

“I think Lockheed will have to [increase production] to meet international demand. They have already received orders that exceed what they produce today,” General Moore noted.

Moore made it clear that he was not calling for Lockheed Martin to invest in new production with his comments but was simply outlining the situation. This is a reality that, according to analysts, has remained quiet for some time, but is now coming back to the fore: there are simply too many jets on order for everyone to get what they want, at least in a timely manner, if the Lockheed's goal of 156 new productions per year starting in 2025 is not increasing, Breaking Defense pointed out.

THE COMPANY'S POSITION

“We continue to evaluate options to increase annual F-35 production capacity beyond 156 to meet growing international demand and ensure the U.S. military has the jets it needs now and in the future,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement. Breaking Defense in a note.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/anche-la-romania-punta-agli-f-35-ce-la-fara-lockheed-martin-con-la-produzione/ on Wed, 27 Sep 2023 05:34:38 +0000.