via UPI
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands will sell 44 of its new CV90 infantry fighting vehicles to Estonia, it was announced on Thursday.The sale, announced in the Estonian capital of Tallinn during a visit by Dutch Minister of Defense Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, comes amid tension in Estonia over Russia's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine and machinations elsewhere in that country.The idea that cost cutting is the reason behind this move is telling. If you've been keeping up with internal Netherland's defense briefings then you'll know that they're essentially mortgaging their entire defense establishment to pay for the F-35.
"Every day we are witnessing cases that demonstrate that peace is fragile and therefore it is not to be regarded as self-evident," Hennis said. "We cannot sit back and watch from the sidelines."
Estonia, once part of the Soviet Union, is a member of NATO. In February, Dutch forces will participate in military exercises in Estonia.
Dutch fighters, with other NATO aircraft, help patrol the skies over the Baltic since Baltic states have no air forces.
The Dutch Ministry of Defense said details of the sale of the armored vehicles are still being negotiated and are expected to be completed in December.
The sale of the 44 Swedish-made vehicles will leave the Netherlands with 149 CV90s in its inventory.
The Netherlands said cost-cutting was the impetus for the sale.
"The 44 CV90 are being divested as a result of the government resolution 'In the interests of the Netherlands' and the supplementary budget agreement of October 2013," the ministry said.
The EU better move with efficiency toward a collective defense strategy beyond NATO now! NATO or more properly said the US Army is no longer practicing the REFORGER exercise that were a staple of the 70's, 80's and 90's.
A smart, effective assault to gobble up territory will be over before the first US Army division is assembled for action and loading ships.
..and meanwhile they're suppose to achieve 2% defense spending, but are selling 44 "new" CV90s to Estonia. The Gripen E is the right fighter for the Dutch.
ReplyDeleteWhy not? They sold their Leopard 2's to Finland.
ReplyDeleteHow sad. At one time, the Dutch had nearly 1000 Leo2 tanks and two thousand YPR-765 and were a big part of NATO. Now they are going be restricted to half a dozen F35s that can be deployed.
It's like the political powers that be have decided they will never enter a ground war on foreign soil ever again. With the disasters of Iraq and Afghanistan, I don't blame them for being leery of foreign entanglements, but disregarding real threats and treaty obligations make the Dutch unreliable.
i thought it was going to be a total of 4 deployable F-35's but your point is well made. the problem is not only are they unable to handle threats against their own country but they've just became useless in NATO. they will have no real ground combat power to contribute except maybe some special operations but they will be dependent on others for almost everything.
DeleteYou;re right, it was four. I was being generous HA!
DeleteThe EU is useless as a defense organization. It's a bureaucracy of clerks and dilletantes, not leaders. It's a question of (politically incorrect warning) too many chiefs and not enough braves. Too many rivals, too many agendas and not enough trust between potential actors. Why Should country A help Country B? Why isn't Country C doing more? Why does Country D only send planes and cash, but no ground troops? Why do Western EU countries ignore Eastern EU countries?
It's why NATO worked after 1989: the political leadership of the US was what brought the Bosnia and Kosovo issues to an end. It's what brought NATO nations into Afghanistan (poor execution is another issue). It was the US that drove the Libya mission.
Without our leadership and assets, NATO is just another name for the EU.
Its not that the EU has too many leaders, its that it doesn't have any capable of leading.
DeleteIts a rules based group.
The first step is always, what do the rules say we do, and they can't cope when the other side breaks those rules. And god help them when faced with less than perfect clarity.
Bosnia, Kosovo and Libya were rare exceptions in which the US was pulled in to acting for the EU
Whats even more sad is that out of the 149 remaining, another 44 vehicles has been put into long term storage. Leaving them with only about a 100 operational CV90'S and no tanks
ReplyDeleteAs for the Gripen E ...why should they get a fighter thats barely any better than what they have now? Besides its still largely a paperplane.
ReplyDeleteA number of reasons.
Delete1. 100% offset package(Saab makes money off maintenance contracts)
2. Generous tech transfer.
3. Small RCS.
4. Carries weapons that an F-16 or even an F-35 couldn't such as Taurus cruise missile.
5. Supercruise.
6. Cheaper operating cost than an F-16.
Yes...on paper !
DeleteDont get me wrong, i think the gripen E is probably going to be a great fighter....But honestly , its getting a lot of credit it frankly hasn't earned yet.
Lets not forget, even the the old C/D model gripen have yet to drop a single piece of ordnance in a real combat mission.
The Gripen E is a NEO variant of the older Gripen versions. NEO stands for New Engine Option or in this case also for Electronics. The F-35 will be hell to maintain. Then you can't pay the bill your pilots won't fly. Then your pilots don't fly they will lose... E.g. Germany has about 110 Eurofighter. Just about 8 a full combat ready.
DeleteThe difference between the F-16 and the Gripen will be the engine and the electronics. I would have no problem with an F-16 NEO for the Netherlands. The F-35 is NOT a fighter jet. It is a stealth bomber. RAF will keep the Eurofighter for air superiority and will just add the A-35 for other missions to replace the Tornado!
The F-35 is modern electronics with a bad aircraft design. The bird is only partly stealth for X-band. For infrared the F-35 is a bright spot due to its big hot nose.
You do see a trend were west european countries that do not really face a threat of occupation are selling of gear to scared eastern European countries ,i fully get it why Balts are in shoping spree mode , they have a large Russian population that has been targeted and marginalised in some cases to a level off a second rate citizens/non citizens so its not that big of a stretch of imagination for something/someone to set of protests and a call to Russia to 'protect' russians
ReplyDelete@targeted and marginalised in some cases to a level off a second rate citizens/non citizens so its@ With all due respect, but IMHO it is more Russian propaganda then Truth. Baltic “Russians” as I know have all due social right (education, medicine, pension and so) and everyone who wants to vote and to be elected can path through some language examination and got political rights too. More of this so-called “non-civilians” can visit Russia without visa – for someone it is a very comfortable advantage of “non-civilian” status
ReplyDelete@call to Russia to 'protect' Russians@
Baltic ”three sisters” play “Nazi toy” too – so possibility to be kicked only because of this reason presents itself. But, for example, I do not Baltic “Russians” as true Russians in terms of moral issues. Only “Russian-speaking”.
Well, good for Estonians.
ReplyDelete