Denmark Recommends Purchasing 27 F-35 Fighter Jets from Lockheed Martin (excerpt)
The government expects to spend about 20 billion Danish crowns ($3.07 billion) on the purchase, he said, paying about 740 million Danish crowns per plane.
Lockheed Martin is expected to deliver the 27 jets between 2021 to 2027, Rasmussen said at a news conference.
The government did not specify when the final decision would be made, but said enough time would be given for a thorough debate to answer any possible questions from the parties backing the minority government.
Reuters had reported on Wednesday that Denmark's government would recommend the purchase of at least 27 F-35 stealth fighters.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: “The new fleet is expected to be fully operational by 2027, with funding to run through 2026. Deliveries of the new planes is due to start in 2021. Christensen said the full cost of buying and maintaining the jets is estimated to reach about 56 billion kroner,” Bloomberg reported from Copenhagen May 12.
“In a poll published by Altinget on Thursday, 59 percent of Danes were opposed to the government’s decision to buy new fighter jets,” it reported.
On May 11, a Reuters report noted that the “selection by Denmark's minority Liberal government…. can still be blocked by parliament, where opposition politicians are urging budget restraint.”
It added that “The recommendation will be followed by a public comment period of 30 days [during which] the final number of jets could shift.”
Doubts are being raised “over a crucial parliamentary committee hearing scheduled for Friday. “All three bidders have been invited to present their jets, but Denmark's Conservative Party said Lockheed and Boeing had been told by Washington not to participate.
“A spokesman for the U.S. embassy confirmed they had been advised to stay away [while] Airbus Group said it still planned to attend and called for a "healthy and transparent" public debate.”
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