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| Steve Griffin |
Donald Trump's threat to move F-35 production to US could jeopardise thousands of Australian jobs - ABC News
By political reporter Stephen Dziedzic and defence correspondent Andrew Greene
US President Donald Trump has sparked uncertainty and confusion for Australian defence companies after threatening to end offshore manufacturing for parts of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
Australia is among several international partners that contribute to the massive international global military program, which is run by American defence giant Lockheed Martin.
But Mr Trump has suggested the United States may pull back the international supply chains and do all the work domestically instead.
"I could tell you hundreds of stories of the stupidity that I have seen. As an example, we make a fighter jet," the President told Fox News.
"We make parts for this jet all over the world, we make them in Turkey, we make them here, we make them there. The problem is if we have a problem with a country, you can't make the jet.
"We get parts from all over the place, it's so crazy. We should make everything in the United States. We're doing it because I'm changing all those policies."
If Mr Trump followed through on his promise, it would be a huge blow to Australia's defence industry, ripping away contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars and endangering thousands of jobs.
But experts are deeply sceptical that the Trump administration will follow through on the President's threat.
When asked to respond to the news, Prime Minister Scott Morrison carefully brushed off Mr Trump's suggestion.
"We'll see what occurs there as it rolls out," Mr Morrison told journalists in Canberra.
"I would caution against getting too far ahead of oneself when it comes to reading into the statement that has been made.
"But we have our contracts and arrangements in place for all those matters, so we'll continue to pursue them in the normal way."
In a statement, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said the Government continued to advocate for more opportunities for Australian participation in the F-35 program.
"Defence is engaging with US officials to reinforce this message," Ms Reynolds said.
Program 'incredibly difficult' to dismantle
In August last year, Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price declared that Australian involvement on the Joint Strike Fighter program would bring in work for dozens of Australian contractors.
"There are more than 50 Australian companies delivering parts fitted to every JSF globally, sharing $1.3 billion in work," Ms Price said.
"This number is expected to almost double to $2 billion by 2023 and employ 5,000 people across Australia."
Australia has also ordered 72 of the next-generation jet fighters from the United States.
Shadow Defence Minister Richard Marles called on the Coalition to "go into bat" for the defence industry jobs at risk.
"We would expect the Minister to be working around the clock to ensure these contracts with Australian defence companies are secure," Mr Marles said.
Brendan Thomas-Noone from the United States Studies Centre said the Joint Strike Fighter program was designed to bring in as many partner countries as possible, and it would be "incredibly difficult" to pull apart the supply chains.
"The program was designed like that for a reason. It incentivised allies to buy into the program, increasing the number of planes that would be produced, and lowering the price," he said.
"If they were to follow through on this it would make the plane eye-wateringly expensive and cost-prohibitive."
Australian Defence sources have also privately scoffed at the US President's declaration.
"I don't think it can play out with all the contractual stuff in the cooperative program," one source told the ABC.
The US Embassy in Canberra has not responded to requests for comment.
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