When conservative politicians realized that Denmark will have to suspend its military plans in order to purchase new fighter jets, their irritation became obvious to the naked eye.
Defense Minister Peter Christensen described the situation as "unfortunate," while conservative Rasmus Jarlov, who earlier touted the new fighter jets as a remedy against "aggressive" Russia, found it "incomprehensible." Even Marie Krarup of the Danish People's Party said the situation was "problematic."
"When terrorist attacks occur in Europe, we bomb the Islamic State [Daesh] in the Middle East. When the refugees become too numerous, NATO warships appear in the Mediterranean. When the Russians change borders and increase their territory, we primarily think of the fighters and other military responses," he wrote, questioning bellicose responses to international affairs.
"It costs a small farm to send a fighter on the wings, and the F-35 rips the gold out of the treasury faster than the speed of sound when it is in the air," the tabloid Extra Bladet argued.
According to the newspaper, the F-35 is almost twice as pricey as its competitors, the F/A-18 Super Hornet and Eurofighter Typhoon, which were rejected by Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his government.
Last but not least, complaints have been filed regarding the noise level, as the F-35 has proved to be substantially louder in use than its forerunner the F-16, which Denmark has used since the early 1980s.
"It is a serious increase in the noise level. Ten decibels corresponds to a doubling of loudness," expert Birger Plovsing of the Delta Acoustics company told Ekstra Bladet.
Denmark releases summary of why they selected the #F35: https://t.co/TyzujLRhqP pic.twitter.com/UkZJgaK6vW
— F-35 Lightning II (@thef35) May 12, 2016