US President Donald Trump has sparked uncertainty and confusion for Australian defence companies after threatening to end offshore manufacturing for parts of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
Key points:
- Donald Trump suggested F-35 production should only take place in the US
- Thousands of Australian jobs rely on local production of aircraft parts
- The current Joint Strike Fighter supply chains would be difficult to dismantle, one expert says
Australia is among several international partners that contribute to the massive international global military program, which is run by American defence giant Lockheed Martin.
But Mr Trump has suggested the United States may pull back the international supply chains and do all the work domestically instead.
"It's a certain fighter jet, I won't tell you which, but it happens to be the F-35.
"We make parts for this jet all over the world, we make them in Turkey, we make them here, we make them there. The problem is if we have a problem with a country, you can't make the jet."
"We get parts from all over the place, it's so crazy. We should make everything in the United States. We're doing it because I'm changing all those policies."
If Mr Trump followed through on his promise, it would be a huge blow to Australia's defence industry, ripping away contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars and endangering thousands of jobs.
But experts are deeply sceptical that the Trump administration will follow through on the President's threat.
When asked to respond to the news, Prime Minister Scott Morrison carefully brushed off Mr Trump's suggestion.
"We'll see what occurs there as it rolls out," Mr Morrison told journalists in Canberra.
"I would caution against getting too far ahead of oneself when it comes to reading into the statement that has been made.
"But we have our contracts and arrangements in place for all those matters, so we'll continue to pursue them in the normal way."
Program 'incredibly difficult' to dismantle
In August last year, Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price declared that Australian involvement on the Joint Strike Fighter program would bring in work for dozens of Australian contractors.
"There are more than 50 Australian companies delivering parts fitted to every JSF globally, sharing $1.3 billion in work," the Minister said.
"This number is expected to almost double to $2 billion by 2023 and employ 5,000 people across Australia."
Brendan Thomas-Noone from the United States Studies Centre said the Joint Strike Fighter program was designed to bring in as many partner countries as possible, and it would be "incredibly difficult" to pull apart the supply chains.
"The program was designed like that for a reason. It incentivised allies to buy into the program, increasing the number of planes that would be produced, and lowering the price," he said.
"If they were to follow through on this it would make the plane eye-wateringly expensive and cost-prohibitive."
Australian Defence sources have also privately scoffed at the US President's declaration.
"I don't think it can play out with all the contractual stuff in the cooperative program," one source told the ABC.
Neither the Defence Minister nor the US Embassy in Canberra have responded to requests for comment.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA1LTE1L3RydW1wLWNvbnNpZGVyaW5nLW1vdmluZy1mLTM1LXByb2R1Y3Rpb24tam9icy1vdXQtb2YtYXVzdHJhbGlhLzEyMjUyMzg00gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEyMjUyMzg0?oc=5
2020-05-15 05:43:48Z
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