Some Japanese defense officials are worried that the high maintenance costs for U.S.-made military aircraft are going to hurt the country’s security capabilities.
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Photo: JASDF
According to Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo is expected to spend approximately $771 million each year to maintain the 42 F-35As, 17 MV-22s, 3 RQ-4s and 4 E-2Ds that were procured in recent years.
These will eat into the defense budget and the services might be forced to cut spending on servicing older platforms. This could result “in a decreased operational rate,” said one official.