The Danish parliament's Committee of Defense (CoD) has raised fresh concerns over the minority conservative-liberal government's selection of the F-35A Lightning II as the Air Force's (DAF) next-generation fighter.
The CoD scrutinized the aircraft unit costs, technical calculations and overall decision-making process that underpin the Fighter Replacement Program (FRP) when it questioned defense minister Peter Christensen and officials from the New Fighter Program Office (NFPO) on Wednesday.
Moreover, the CoD asked the minister and NFPO experts to explain the rationale behind the eventual choice of aircraft, and to justify capital costs relating to both the flyaway unit purchase price and lifecycle for each of the short-listed aircraft competing in the FRP.
"Of fundamental importance is that we understand how the decision on selection was reached. We need to know the foundation for this, as well as the technical information and cost evaluation data on which calculations are based," said Rasmus Jarlov, chairman of the CoD.
The continuing talks on the FRP are expected to result in a preliminary cross-party agreement to purchase the F-35A ahead of the NATO summit meeting in Warsaw in July.
The NFPO's calculations concerning flight hours per fuselage, and lifecycle costs of the competing aircraft, are proving to be particularly contentious against the backdrop of the ongoing cross-party political debate. The calculations were contained in the NFPO's candidate aircraft evaluation report.
One major bone of contention is the NFPO's assessment of the F-35. The agency calculated that the F-35 would deliver 8,000 flight hours per fuselage. By contrast, the NFPO returned 6,000 flight hours for both the Airbus-led European consortium's Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing's F/A-18F Super Hornet.
Airbus and Boeing questioned the NFPO's assessment of their aircraft when both manufacturers were invited, separately, before the CoD in the days after the Danish government F-35A announcement May 12.
"There is still uncertainty about the final cost of the project, and how many aircraft will be bought," said Holger K. Nielsen, a Socialist People's Party member of the CoD.
The eventual number of fighter aircraft to be acquired, which is expected to be between 22 and 30, will be decided during cross-party political talks to seal a new defense budgetary agreement. The talks will involve seven of the nine parties in the Danish parliament that supported the new fighter acquisition plan in 2012.
Opposition Danish leaders are also raising concerns over the projected three-year gap in 2022-2024. This is expected to occur between the phasing-out period for the DAF's fleet of 29 in-service F-16s and the arrival of the first F-35 aircraft.
Defense minister Christensen described the gap as a "challenge" for Denmark and the DAF. Fewer operational front-line fighters will result in a suspension of DAF participation in international missions. Moreover, it could lead to a possible curtailment of flight time in "domestic" air-policing and similar operations in skies over Denmark's Baltic Sea "neighborhood."
The proposal drafted by Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen's government recommends the acquisition of 27 F-35As at an estimated purchase cost of US $3 billion (DKK20bn) and a total lifecycle cost over 30 years of $8.2 billion.
"Costs can rise and fall. There are always some risks, but we will negotiate the best terms we can. We will also do our utmost to clarify details as much as we can before we make the first purchase. We will look to secure better certainty on costs. There will be currency risks, and this could prove the biggest cost challenge for us," Christensen said.
The Danish People's Party has urged the government to deliver a viable solution that circumvents the need for a "three-year gap."
"This gap will be highly problematic. While it may even seem the appropriate thing to do, one can envisage situations where we need to act, such as supporting NATO partners engaged in international missions," said Marie Krarup, a member of the Danish People's Party on the CoD.
Unless there is a dramatic change in policy, the Danish government's fiscal ability to bridge the three-year gap will likely remain curtailed by its decision to fund the fighter procurement program from within the framework of the existing defense budget going forward.
Under the government's existing plan, the first of the Danish F-35As are scheduled to be delivered to the DAF's main base at Skrydstrup in 2021-2022, with the final aircraft entering service in 2027.
The Skrydstrup Air Base is set to undergo a comprehensive facilities upgrade to accommodate the F-35As. This capital spending requirement will also be sourced from within the framework of the current defense budget agreement.
