Fighters: An odd comparison

The Netherlands--geographically tiny and with half Canada's population--looks like planning on 85 F-35s, starting in 2015; we plan on 65 new fighters, starting in 2017 (from AW&ST, January 5, p. 26, text subscriber only):

The Netherlands is following Norway in recommending procurement of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and both defense ministries rank the aircraft’s mission capabilities higher and costs lower than competing multirole fighters...

The Netherlands is aiming for initial operational capability around 2015. The total procurement is expected to be for 85 conventional-takeoff-and-landing (CTOL) F-35As...