Purchase of 115 F-35 fighter jets: the bill is set to rise – a further 7.3 billion is needed
This is set out in the draft decree from the Ministry of Defence, which the government submitted to the defence committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on 30 October. These committees are required to give their opinion by 13 December
Key points
A rise in costs, and in particular an additional 7.28 billion euros compared with the approximately 13.5 billion euros budgeted and authorised in 2009, for the programme involving the procurement of F-35 fighter jets and the expansion of the industrial technology hub at Cameri (Novara).
This is set out in the draft decree from the Ministry of Defence, which the government submitted to the defence committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on 30 October. These committees are required to give their opinion by 13 December. With this measure, the government is seeking the refinancing of the 2009 programme aimed at acquiring the fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and upgrading the associated Cameri (NO) industrial technology hub. The increased expenditure stems from the necessary revision of safety requirements, the rise in costs for technological upgrades to the F-35, and changes in inflation and the euro/dollar exchange rate recorded in recent years. Finally, for the consolidation of industrial capabilities and support infrastructure at the Cameri hub.
The previous and current costs
The F-35 programme has a multi-year development plan. It is scheduled to begin in 2027 and conclude in 2039. In 2009, an investment of approximately 13.5 billion euros (at the time, approximately 17.7 billion dollars) was planned, of which approximately 12.9 billion was earmarked for the JSF weapons system and approximately 0.6 billion for the FACO/MRO&U line, i.e. the aerospace industrial line that integrates aircraft assembly, testing and maintenance support activities. The decree now submitted for consultation provides for a total discounted cost of 20,844.6 million euros, at 2026 economic conditions, representing an increase of 7,279.6 million euros compared with the previous financial framework.
Plans to purchase 115 fighter jets
In the Multi-Annual Defence Planning Document (Dpp) for the three-year period 2025–2027, on page 25 of the Annex, there is a programme entitled ‘F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)’, which specifically provides for the acquisition of the fifth-generation F-35 weapon system. It specifies that, compared with the initial requirement of 131 aircraft, the acquisition of 115 aircraft is planned, comprising 75 F-35A Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL) for the Air Force and 40 F-35B Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft, divided equally between the Air Force and the Navy.
A further 11 billion is earmarked in the latest Dpp
In the 2026 Defence Planning Programme – 2028, recently submitted to Parliament, the main air defence programmes currently underway are the F2000 programme for 24 new Eurofighter (3 billion by 2031 and a further 2.3 billion thereafter) and the programme for 115 F-35s, for which a total of a further 11 billion euros has been earmarked (5 by 2031, plus over 6 billion in subsequent years). For the GCAP, the sixth-generation fighter, the allocation is 875 million for this year, 695 in 2027, 152 in 2028, and then 866 from 2029 to 2031. Finally, six billion in subsequent years, with funding set to end in 2037.
