Does anyone have sources on what Japan plans to do in order to restart it’s training program for F-2s? Since 21stSQ lost 18 F-2Bs and it will be many years before even 6 of them come back, are they going to consolidate the remaining F-2Bs to 21SQ or just live with 6 training F-2Bs when they have finished repairs.

Due to the recent slowdown of F-35 production there are plenty of production slots open in the 2014-2020 timeframe.

By giving away the farm like that they won’t be helping those 3000 that just got sacked 🙁

Nobody has to hold off on any more orders as the recent slowdown in production numbers has opened up production slots (50/70 vs original 80/80). A combined Typhoon (or anything else) & F-35 buy will cost more and be more expensive to maintain due to economies of scale. To get a 2016 production slot means ordering by 2014 (for long lead items) with production starting in 2015.

Why bother with 40 Typhoons (or F-18s) since there is no problem starting delivery of the F-35 in 2016? They can do the same thing they did with Norway and include the first couple of Block upgrades as part of the deal. btw, The first few F-35s will be stateside trainers anyways.

F-X is a F-4 replacement, not F-15. It is the F-XX program that is to replace the F-15s.

That original story is a Boeing press release. The USN does not involve itself in offers to foreign governments.

LI is a think tank and get’s paid for their studies, not individual articles.