New fighter jets to be bought without recommended analysis

30 billion kroner purchase decision expected within the next few months

Oct 16, 2015

Within a few months Parliament is expected to vote on spending up to 30 billion kroner to replace the military’s F-16 fighter jets.

Contrary to recommendations by the supreme audit institution Rigsrevisionen – which found agreement at the Defence Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the then Economy and Business Ministry, and the Auditor General’s Office – there will be no study of the socio-economic consequences of such a purchase, Ingeniøren reports.

In 2009 Rigsrevisionen unequivocally recommended that a study of the socio-economic consequences be carried out, but Ingeniøren has found out that the study has been dropped.

Jonas Märcher Ottosen, the head of the new fighter program at the Defence Ministry, responded to a freedom of information request by Ingeniøren

“In response to your request, I can report that the Defence Ministry’s new fighter plane program has not produced actual socio-economic impact assessments in relation to the forthcoming fighter plane acquisition.”

Instead, the models vying to replace the F-16s will be compared according to strategic, military, economic and industrial parameters. Ottosen explained that the economic and industrial evaluations would contain some elements of the missing socio-economic study, but that they wouldn’t replace it.

The parliamentary group responsible for choosing the new planes has not been informed of the decision to go without the study, and Henrik Dam Kristensen, Socialdemokraterne’s defence spokesman, expressed surprise at the news.

“It’s news to me there won’t be a socio-economic analysis, and it surprises me that we in the group haven’t been given an explanation of that decision,” he said.

“On the other hand, it’s positive the fighter plane office are using considerable resources on highlighting the consequences of the purchase.”