The Republic of Alberta and the F-35 Purchase: Let's Ask AI
In my recent post, The Alberta Prosperity Project, NATO and the Cost of Defence , I used the purchase of 12 F-35s as an example of the costs involved in building military capability. The price I cited, and the process I described were, of course, gross oversimplifications of defence procurement. I thought I would institute a new feature called "Let's Ask AI" to flush out the issue and be transparent about sources. So I sparked up my Google Gemini PWA and entered this prompt: "I'm starting my own country. I've placed an order with Lochheed Martin for 12 F-35 fighter jets. The price I've been quoted is $1.459 billion. How will the financial side be structured? How much for a down payment, etc?" [Gemini's Response Starts here] Based on publicly available information about F-35 procurement, the financial structure for a purchase of this magnitude is far more complex than a simple down payment and final bill. Here's a breakdown of the factors i...