Chips are used in a lot more than expensive, low-quantity planes.
Increasingly, every "round of ammo" has a chip in it. Every missile, bomb, single-use drone, and artillery shell has sensors and guidance. These are expended in use.
Instead of maintaining these "rounds", the military simply asks for a new, improved, and more expensive version of them, and destroys / gives away the old versions.
It's not just one country buying these, it's the entirety of NATO.
Increasingly, every "round of ammo" has a chip in it. Every missile, bomb, single-use drone, and artillery shell has sensors and guidance. These are expended in use.
Instead of maintaining these "rounds", the military simply asks for a new, improved, and more expensive version of them, and destroys / gives away the old versions.
It's not just one country buying these, it's the entirety of NATO.