Source: National Network Disarmiamoli!
than 14 billion € for the F-35 fighter and lack of money for earthquake victims
Manlio Dinucci
For Abruzzo earthquake victims, the government has made available 100 million euro, but there will want to many more: only for the needs of the Ministry of the Interior, you will find 130 million over the next six months. And, if it really wants to rebuild, it will take far greater appropriations. Where to find these funds in a crisis like the present, without thereby further cut social spending (schools, health, etc..)? The answer is simpler than it looks: it would be enough to block the huge budget that is going to be hunting for the purchase of U.S. F-35 Lightning II (Joint Strike Fighter) for Lockheed Martin.
The defense committee of the room has already expressed their support to the acquisition of hunting and the Senate will do so by April 16. In the 2009 budget of the Ministry of Defence has already earmarked 47 million euro for the F-35. It 's just a bit earlier: to participate in the program, Italy has pledged over one billion euro. But they are still loose change in front of the expense that the parliament is to approve: € 12.9 billion for the purchase of 131 fighters, 605 million more for assembly and maintenance facilities. In total, 14.5 billion euro. Will be paid in installments of about one billion per year between 2009 and 2026. But, as with all weapons systems, the fighter is going to cost more than expected and, once produced, will be further upgraded. E 'therefore certain that the total outlay (public money) will be much greater than anticipated. It should also be noted that the Air Force is buying 121 Eurofighter Typhoon, whose cost exceeds 8 billion euro.
Italy's participation in the Joint Strike Fighter program, dubbed F-35 Lightning (lightning), is a perfect example of political bipartisan. The first MoU was signed at the Pentagon in 1998, D'Alema government, the second in 2002 by the Berlusconi government, the third, in 2007, the Prodi government. And in 2009 a new government led by Berlusconi to approve the purchase of the 131 hunting, to be fair, had already been decided by the Prodi government in 2006 (see the poster, 25/10/2006). Is unclear why, when the government announced the purchase of 131 F-35, the 'opposition' (PD and IDV) did not oppose.
Italy participates in the F-35 as a partner second level, which means that contributes to the development and construction of hunting. We have undertaken more than 20 industries, namely those of the majority of the military, including Alenia Aeronautica, Galileo Avionica, Selex Communications, Finmeccanica and Otomelara Datamat and other non-Finmeccanica, such as Air and Piaggio. In Alenia in Campania and Puglia, and then in the Piedmont will be produced over 1,200 F-35 wings. At the airbase Cameri (Novara) will be made an assembly line and testing of the hunt for European countries, which will be transformed into a center of maintenance, overhaul, repair and modification. The assembly will come out probably the 25 Italian fighters purchased from Israel, where it can add 50 others. The government presents it as a big deal for Italy, however, says that while billions of contracts for the F-35 coming into the coffers of private companies, billions for the purchase of the fighters come from public coffers. This activity, according to the government, will create 600 jobs immediately and a 'drive for employment "which could result in 10 thousand jobs. A nice perspective to aim to increase employment, one of the most deadly weapon systems.
The F-35 is a fifth-generation fighter, produced in three variants: a takeoff / landing conventional for the carriers, and short takeoff / vertical landing. Italy I will buy 69 of the first variant of the third and 62, which would also be used for the aircraft carrier Cavour. The hunt for short takeoff / vertical landing, said Lockheed, are the most suitable "to be deployed closer to the coast or to the front, shortening the distance and time to hit the target." With stealth, the F-35 Lightning "as a lightning strike the enemy with destructive force and unexpectedly." A plane, therefore, for wars of aggression, to cause destruction worse than the earthquake of Abruzzo. But for the victims there will be no state funeral or cameras to show them.
