Defense buys new F-35s and killer drones at an accelerated pace | Inland

Minister Ollongren (Defence) received permission from the cabinet on Friday to place the order now. The budget must be adjusted accordingly. At the beginning of this month, the cabinet already announced that it wanted to buy six extra F-35s and four MQ-9 Reaper drones. The devices would be ordered later this cabinet term, but this is now being brought forward.

The six F-35s are expected to be delivered in 2025. For this it was necessary to buy the fighter jets before mid-July this year. Failure to do so will result in a gap in the delivery schedule. The delay would then increase to at least two years, the Ministry of Defense reports.

“This really saves us time,” Ollongren told De Telegraaf. “We don’t have to join the queue now.” Due to the heated arms market, the prices of the planes are higher than normal. „We have the advantage that we are already part of existing programs, we are now buying more. As a result, we have some control over the price. If we wait longer, it will only get more expensive.”

There is now a greater demand for combat aircraft around the world. The overstrained defense market is the result of the war in Ukraine. Many European countries have recently increased their defense budgets and now all want to buy planes, weapons and ammunition at the same time.

The Netherlands currently has four unmanned Reaper drones. That number is doubled. The United States has indicated that a new order for the killer drones must be placed before September. At the moment, the drones are not armed yet, but the cabinet is planning to. State Secretary Van der Maat (Defence) – who is responsible for the equipment – ​​informed the House of Representatives and the Senate on Friday about the accelerated purchases.

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