Why is the US Department of Defense reducing the amount of F-35 purchases by 35% in 2023?

The US Department of Defense will reduce the amount of F-35 purchases by 35%. (Source: Popular Mechanics)

According to American magazine Popular Mechanics, instead of 94 aircraft, the Pentagon will only receive 61 fighter aircraft. The article writes that in this way, the US military intends to save for the modernization of the F-35 in the future.

Popular Mechanics notes that development of the Block 4 version of the plane is taking twice as long as planned, and that updating an existing fighter to this modification will cost around $2 billion.

“Although the Pentagon saves money by purchasing fewer aircraft, this in itself leads to an increase in the price of an aircraft,” the article states.

The magazine said that to date, the US company Lockheed Martin has delivered about 800 F-35 aircraft to customers around the world.

In March, The Drive reported that Germany intends to buy F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets to contain Russia.

This newspaper noted that the decision to buy American fighter jets was made by Germany in the context of Russia’s special operation in the Donbass.

“Although the F-35 can perform a variety of missions, the German Ministry of Defense frankly states that they were purchased primarily for use as a means of transporting nuclear weapons,” the article said.