Negotiations between the government and the aerospace industry on the Joint Strike Force (JSF) jet have run aground, according to a letter sent by the industry to economic affairs minister Maria van der Hoeven on Thursday.

According to the aerospace industry, the government has ‘slammed the door shut’, reports the NRC. It wants the minister to become ‘personally involved’ in order to ensure negotiations are ‘serious’.
The tension between the partners stems from the government’s insistence that any shortfall in its development budget of €858m be covered by the aerospace industry. That shortfall has now reached €308m, according to the economic affairs ministry in the NRC.
The aerospace industry says the financial benefits of the project are now far greater than originally thought and the deal will benefit the taxpayer at the industry’s expense.
The US-led JSF project is to develop a successor to the F16 fighter jet.