So Japan May Ax its F-35 Buy If Costs Go Too High

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So, you've probably seen the news that emerged late last week out of Japan saying that Tokyo may reverse its plans to buy F-35 Joint Strike Fighters if the cost grows too high.

One could take this as an ominous sign for a program that's seen too many delays, reduced or slowed buys and cost overruns to list here. Or one could take the stance that an industry official I spoke to recently and say that it's simply the Japanese trying to gain an early advantage in cost negotiations for the two squadrons worth of F-35s it plans to buy. I hate to say it, but that explanation makes some sense. At the same time, it's not unthinkable that the island nation is genuinely concerned that the plane's price tag will grow to be too high.

That's all about that until some more news breaks on the Japanese JSF purchase.

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