via Sputnik.
The Five Star and Lega parties, part of the current government, have opposed a F-35 deal with the US aviation giant. The defence ministry has studied the 20-year old agreement over the last few months. The assessment has been finished, and the issue is reportedly expected to be discussed at the summit level, an Italian news agency reports.Story here.
According to the news agency, Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta will authorise a 389-million-euro ($440 million) payment for F-35 jets under the 1998 deal with the US aircraft maker Lockheed Martin.
The outlet cites a government source as saying that after the payment is completed, they will carry out a revision of the programme, as was earlier announced. The source pointed at "some doubts” remaining about the agreement. According to the publication, there are questions about the agreements signed by the previous government. There had reportedly been a delay due to a "technical assessment" about purchasing US F-35 fighter jets, which has now been completed, ANSA says. The results are to be referred to the prime minister and the matter will be discussed by the country’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and US President Donald Trump, the news agency revealed.
Forget the 400 million dollar payment. To me with regard to this program that's small potatoes.
What has me spinning is that they signed a contract 20 years ago and only now are seeking to revise it.
Can't speak for the Italians but I can easily see why they would do such a thing and wonder why it's taken so long. They've been operating under austerity for a long time. Every program they're involved in should have been scrubbed hard looking for savings. Especially this one.
Think about it.
20 years and they still don't have planes filling an airbase. The patience shown is remarkable. It's like buying a car and waiting 20 years for it to be delivered!
Simply amazing.
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