The Netherlands gets to continue purchasing F-35A fighters and participating in the NATO nuclear sharing arrangement. This is the ultimate guarantee of sovereignty which trumps any mere commercial concerns. Quid pro quo.
> The Netherlands gets to continue purchasing F-35A fighters
Is that a benefit? I got the impression some countries are rather pressured by the US to spend their money on US military equipment (instead of alternatives) rather than the reverse.
Which alternatives specifically? The F-35 is the only 5th-generation multirole fighter available for purchase today. The Netherlands could probably negotiate a purchase of obsolete European fighters such as the Saab Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon, or Dassault Rafale. Those are adequate for the air sovereignty mission but not much else. They aren't significantly cheaper, are way behind in most capabilities, and aren't survivable against a modern air defense system. There are European consortiums working on 6th-generation fighters but at this point those are paper airplanes and it will be decades before they reach volume production (if ever).
Most importantly, the F-35A is the only available platform certified for nuclear weapons delivery so as long as the Netherlands wants to continue participating in the NATO nuclear sharing arrangement there is no alternative. Germany looked into getting the Typhoon certified for the nuclear strike mission but gave up due to high costs and purchased the F-35A instead.
