So, we have the statement by the Prime Minister that Norway has settled on the F-35 as its F-16 replacement.

What I find interesting is this article, which says Norway will pay $2.54 billion for 48 aircraft, because that figureds to $52 million per aircraft, which is less than half the unit costs I’ve been seeing.

Something is seriously whack with those numbers, which, as the Norwegian PM notes in his statement, is less than the Gripen, which is half it’s weight, and you pay for aircraft like you pay for ground beef, by the pound.

It may be that the money already put into the program by Norway as a JSF partner is being counted, but there have to be some seriously heavy duty “Jedi mind tricks” in the accounting too.