ROME (Lord Media): The Italian government has requested parliamentary approval to spend an additional 7.28 billion euros on the F-35 fighter jet program, which will increase the total project cost by over 50%. Initially, in 2009, Italy had approved a budget of 13.5 billion euros for this project.

With the proposed additional investment, the total expenditure on the F-35 program will reach 20.8 billion euros. The additional investment is set to begin next year and will continue until 2039.

According to the government, the reasons for this revision include modernization of aircraft technology, stricter security requirements, inflation, and changes in the exchange rate of the euro against the U.S. dollar. This decision comes in light of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and regional security concerns.