- Joined
- Mar 11, 2006
- Messages
- 38,974
- Reaction score
- 14,318
- Location
- Denmark
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Centrist
I understand the mutual defence aspect which I support, but I also understand why people are getting more and more skeptical over NATO and especially US influence on military issues including procurement.
Case in point. Denmark has just bought 27 F-35s from the US. They are to replace our F-16s. Now normally this would on the face of it not be a problem right? Wellll..
First off, the F-35 is a death trap. It is not even finished and has so many problems. Like the computer system locking out people mid flight, or the ejection seat being a death trap for anyone over a certain height. It is also by far the most expensive solution.
So why did the Danish government choose this solution? Good question,... one could claim that Denmark already has F-16s so upgrading to the F-35 would only be natural. However is there something else behind it? Denmark almost always buys US, instead of European, and it is almost always my party that is involved in the buying.. which pisses me off. Why waste our tax-payer money on expensive and hard to maintain weapons, instead of European made (including some of them with Danish tax-payer money!), cheaper and easier to maintain.
Secondly... alternatives. The Eurofighter was the alternative, it is being used.. it is tested, and by most accounts much better than the F-35 on so many fronts. On top of that, it is much cheaper and easier to maintain!
The debate in Denmark over this has been fierce with the right wing government and even parts of the center left defending the buying of the F-35. The media and many people are still extremely puzzled over the buy.
So over the weekend we learn the following (it is in Danish)
Fem af de nye danske kampfly lander aldrig i Danmark | Berlingske Politiko
Basically.. of the 27 non-working expensive F-35s... 5 of them will be permanently stationed in the US for "training purposes"....
Now for most Danes, including me... this is a wtf? Cant the Danish pilots train in Europe or even in Denmark? So not only do we have to pay over-prices for non-functioning planes, but we have to pay the US for letting them have 5 of the planes we own, so that our pilots can be flown over there to train.... seriously!?
Can anyone explain why on earth this is remotely logical?
Case in point. Denmark has just bought 27 F-35s from the US. They are to replace our F-16s. Now normally this would on the face of it not be a problem right? Wellll..
First off, the F-35 is a death trap. It is not even finished and has so many problems. Like the computer system locking out people mid flight, or the ejection seat being a death trap for anyone over a certain height. It is also by far the most expensive solution.
So why did the Danish government choose this solution? Good question,... one could claim that Denmark already has F-16s so upgrading to the F-35 would only be natural. However is there something else behind it? Denmark almost always buys US, instead of European, and it is almost always my party that is involved in the buying.. which pisses me off. Why waste our tax-payer money on expensive and hard to maintain weapons, instead of European made (including some of them with Danish tax-payer money!), cheaper and easier to maintain.
Secondly... alternatives. The Eurofighter was the alternative, it is being used.. it is tested, and by most accounts much better than the F-35 on so many fronts. On top of that, it is much cheaper and easier to maintain!
The debate in Denmark over this has been fierce with the right wing government and even parts of the center left defending the buying of the F-35. The media and many people are still extremely puzzled over the buy.
So over the weekend we learn the following (it is in Danish)
Fem af de nye danske kampfly lander aldrig i Danmark | Berlingske Politiko
Basically.. of the 27 non-working expensive F-35s... 5 of them will be permanently stationed in the US for "training purposes"....
Now for most Danes, including me... this is a wtf? Cant the Danish pilots train in Europe or even in Denmark? So not only do we have to pay over-prices for non-functioning planes, but we have to pay the US for letting them have 5 of the planes we own, so that our pilots can be flown over there to train.... seriously!?
Can anyone explain why on earth this is remotely logical?