The Quest for Relevant Air Power

258 │ ROYAL NETHERLANDS Air Force
is supposed to receive a proportional share of levies on sales to
third parties. Furthermore, the various international partners of
the programme are entitled to receive their aircraft ahead of other
potential customers. 188
Courtesy US Air Force
An F-35 Joint Strike Fighter manoeuvres during its first flight over Eglin
AFB, FL, 23 April 2009. The jet is a stealth-capable multirole strike fighter.
A Dutch defence official confirmed in a 2004 interview with the
author that contrary to European offers such as the Eurofighter or
the French Rafale, only the JSF would offer full interoperability
with the USAF. He added that American manufacturers were expected
to provide the aircraft at low unit costs due to high production
runs, as had already been the case with the F-16 combat aircraft.
Thus, Dutch combat aircraft procurement decisions have
been primarily driven by operational requirements and low unit
costs rather than by the need to further a European defence industrial
base.
It has to be reemphasised that the Dutch participation in the
JSF project does not offer equal partnership as, for instance, a European
cooperative venture might have done. 189 In mid-2009, RNLAF
procurement planning foresaw the acquisition of 85 F-35 JSFs. At
that point in time, the Netherlands government had committed to
one aircraft for operational test and evaluation and was awaiting
parliamentary approval of a second. 190 One year later, the decision