LONDON — The Netherlands expects to ramp up production spending for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter significantly in 2014, according to budget projections submitted to parliament.
The latest update the defense ministry is providing to legislators on the planned F-35 purchase shows spending on the system design and development (SDD) phase will wrap up in 2012, with €11.6 million ($15.6 million) and €1.1 million to be spent over the next two years. Additionally, the Dutch government has set aside €8.5 million in 2011 and €3 million in 2012 to complete solely Dutch-financed SDD initiatives.
The budget forecast also shows €126.3 million in 2011 and €82.7 million in 2012 allocated for the production, sustainment and follow-on development phase of the F-35 in 2011 and 2012. The figures are estimates reflecting the planned purchase of a second F-35 initial operational test and evaluation aircraft, for which the price was not set at the time of the budget submission. The Netherlands says it paid €99.7 million for its first test F-35.
The production figures also do not reflect the €1.4-billion cost increase to the €6.2-billion Dutch program cost resulting from overruns on the core program.
Meanwhile, the government has said it will use reviews in the coming months to finalize the size of the planned F-35 order. The Netherlands initially indicated it would buy 85 units, although the total is expected to come down in part because of fiscal pressures.
Current budget projections show Dutch F-35 spending increasing steeply after 2012, with allocations of €161.1 million in 2013, €414.2 million in 2014 and €610 million in 2015. But delays in the F-35 production schedule may force a reassessment of the timing of the ramp-up
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