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The Norwegian government has decided to replace the aging fleet of F-16's with American F-35 fighters, according to a press release from the Prime Ministers office. JSF is assessed to be better than the Gripen within all the main tasks: - Intelligence gathering and surveillance. - air to air combat - air to ground and sea surface

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flew supersonic for the first time yesterday, achieving another milestone. The aircraft accelerated to Mach 1.05, or about 680 miles per hour. The test validated the F-35 Lightning II's capability to operate beyond the speed of sound and was accomplished with a full internal load of weapons on the one-hour flight. "The F-35 transitioned from subsonic to supersonic just as our engineers and our computer modeling had predicted," said Jon Beesley. "I continue to be impressed with the aircraft's power and strong acceleration, and I'm pleased that its precise handling qualities are retained in supersonic...

China 5th Generation Fighter XXJ J-16 PIc???? The Google translation <3>: f-16 -medium-sized fourth-generation supersonic fighter planes take off and land vertically short-range: from f-16 -611 research and development. Development of the plane from Russia's Jacques -141 aircraft. Use of stealth aircraft design, with transonic, supersonic cruise capacity. Can be on multiple targets simultaneously over-the-horizon attacks, the enforceability of the sea and空等a variety of tasks, the main cruise engine aircraft for a WS-17, the plane will be mainly naval air force equipment, used equipment Navy amphibious Gong Jijian in the plan or at Nansha, Xisha Islands airport, I support Marine...

The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is slated to become the backbone of the U.S. tactical aviation fleet. This ambitious program aims to replace the combined U.S. Defense Department arsenal of F-16 Fighting Falcons, F/A-18 Hornets, A-10 Thunderbolts, and the AV-8B Harrier combat aircraft with a single platform capable of being adapted to the divergent needs of the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Marine Corps. The new fighter will not only replace those rapidly aging aircraft in the colossal American inventory, but the jet is also expected to become the mainstay of Allied air...

Decade-old notions about US tactical aircraft strategy and planning have come under a sustained assault from academic institutions closely linked to military and government power structures. The attacks have been timed - perhaps coincidentally - in a period of transition. Within the last month, separate analyses produced by Rand and the Center for Strategic and International Studies have been leaked or released into the public domain even as long-term plans are due to be questioned and revised by the first new president to take office since George Bush in January 2001. The Rand and CSIS reports both deliver sharply critical...

UPDATE 1-Israel to buy $15.2 bln in Lockheed fighters By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Tuesday said it approved the sale to Israel of 25 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and an option for 50 more in coming years -- a deal valued at up to $15.2 billion. The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which oversees major arms sales, said the deal is vital to U.S. national security interests to assist Israel as it develops and maintains "a strong and ready self-defense...

Joint Strike Fighter: The Latest Hotspot in the U.S. Defense Meltdown While its illusion as an "affordable" multi-role fighter-bomber is alive and well in Washington D.C., the F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter" is already a disaster, and the bad news has barely begun to roll in. Internationally recognized combat aircraft designer Pierre Sprey and Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler summarize the many failures in a new opinion piece that appears in the Sept. 10, 2008 issue of Janes Defence Weekly and is reproduced below. "Joint Strike Fighter: The Latest Hotspot in the U.S. Defense Meltdown" by Pierre M. Sprey...

Opinion: Maintaining air superiority Congress must fund more F-22s By Phil Gingrey, Washington Times 09/09/2008 The F-22A Raptor is the key to America's air superiority, and we need more of them. Recently, however, some have argued otherwise. Many of the dissenters suggest that Congress is considering continuing F-22 production for simple, political reasons. I respectfully disagree. Continuing the F-22 production is not a political nicety for the Air Force or for the defense of our nation. It is a necessity and the current program of record - 183 Raptors - is woefully inadequate to fulfill the National Military Strategy. This...

Sweden's Gripen competes with the F-35 By BOB COX rcox@star-telegram.com FARNBOROUGH, England — Just a few years ago, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter was widely viewed as the world’s leading next-generation, high-technology aircraft, with no strong Western competitor. That’s no longer the case. Saab, the Swedish industrial conglomerate better known in the U.S. for performance cars than airplanes, has impressed potential aircraft buyers with an aggressive marketing campaign for its upgraded Gripen fighter jet. Denmark and Norway, two nations that have invested in the F-35, are now holding competitions pitting the F-35 against the Gripen. Denmark is...

The skies over Fort Worth, Texas, hosted a historic aviation milestone today when the most expensive plane on Earth—a modded version of the F-35 Lightning II that lands vertically like a helicopter—made its first flight. Its pilot certainly had the chops to do the job: He learned to fly short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) airplanes when Jimmy Carter was president. Retired Royal Air Force squadron leader Graham Tomlinson, now employed by BAE Flight Systems, flew AV-8 Harriers (the first STOVL warplanes to see action) for 28 years, including time in the late 1980s as a test pilot qualifying the FA-2 Sea...

Israel wants to start buying radar-evading Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets as soon as 2011, with delivery likely about two years later, a U.S. F-35 program official said on Wednesday. The interest in acquiring an initial batch of up to 25 F-35s dovetails with Israeli fears that Iran is seeking a nuclear bomb and could have it as soon as 2010, sooner than predicted by the United States. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are limited to generating electricity. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in Washington on Tuesday, at the start of a three-day visit to the United States,...

A House subcommittee on Wednesday endorsed continued production of Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor but dealt a blow to another North Texas defense project by recommending a $166 million cut in Bell Helicopter's armed reconnaissance helicopter program.The subcommittee seemingly gave a boost to Air Force leaders in their efforts to continue the F-22, which is scheduled to go out of production in 2011. The Pentagon leadership wants to cap the F-22 fleet at 183 fighters, but the Air Force is pushing for at least 381 F-22s, saying it needs at least that many to maintain U.S. air superiority. Subcommittee members approved...

THE F-35 joint strike fighter will be confirmed as the best choice to become the RAAF's frontline combat aircraft in a classified review to be presented to Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon later this week. The final report of the high-level review commissioned by Mr Fitzgibbon in February is also expected to rule out the much more expensive US-made F-22 Raptor fighter as an alternative buy to the F-35 JSF. Mr Fitzgibbon ordered the review into Australia's future air combat capability as concerns have risen about the development cost and production schedules of the JSF, as well as the capability choices...

Part of the 2009 budget proposal by the Department of Defense is a document called the DoD FY 2009 Budget Request Summary Justification. In the United States Air Force section, there are words about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that are lethal. Quote: "The F-35 will be four times more effective than legacy fighters in air-to-air engagements, eight times more effective in prosecuting missions against fixed and mobile targets, and three times more effective in non-traditional ISR and Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses and Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD) missions" These words are a huge problem for a number...

Lt. Col. James "Flipper" Kromberg of the U.S. Air Force became the first military service pilot to evaluate the F-35 Lightning II, taking the aircraft through a series of maneuvers Wednesday on its 26th flight. Kromberg took off from Lockheed Martin's [NYSE: LMT] Fort Worth plant at 11:54 a.m. CST, flew the plane to 6,000 feet and checked handling qualities at 15-degrees angle of attack. He then climbed to 10,000 and 12,000 feet assessing the up-and-away flight-control response. Kromberg also tested the F-35's engine performance and formation-flying characteristics. "The aircraft flew very well, exceeding my expectations," Kromberg said. "I was...

US concerned over Norway's $8bn fighter selection programme, Saab's Gripen may be favoured news 15 January 2008 Helsinki: Almost immediately after the Eurofighter consortium distanced itself from the Norwegian fighter replacement programme in December last year, citing alterations in the bidding process as favouring the US JSF-35 programme, it is now the turn of the US to cry foul saying that the process may actually be skewed in favour of the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen-N programme. Post-withdrawal of the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter from the competition, the Lockheed Martin JSF-35 and the Saab JAS-39 Gripen-N fighters are now in contention for the...

Israel to boost range of future F-35 fleet By Arie Egozi The Israeli air force wants to increase the operational range of its future fleet of 100 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters by adding new external fuel tanks that are already being developed by domestic companies. Elbit Systems subsidiary Cyclone Aviation is offering to supply external tanks to be carried on the F-35's under-wing hardpoints, while Israel Aerospace Industries plans to produce conformal fuel tanks for the Israeli fighters. Israel's air force recently completed the design of a unique F-35 version optimised for its mission requirements, but further details...

Ian McPhedran: Super Hornet stings Brendan Nelson Ian McPhedran January 01, 2008 12:00am AUSTRALIAN taxpayers have been scheduled to cough up a huge $22 billion during the next decade to buy two completely separate fleets of jet fighters. These planes will almost certainly never fire a shot in anger. The first $6 billion will buy and run 24 Boeing Super Hornet fighters over the next 10 years. The planes are due to start arriving late in 2009. The second $16 billion will purchase a fleet of up to 100 Joint Strike Fighters from Lockheed Martin to take care of the...

Dec 24, 2007 IAF interested in new US-made jet By YAAKOV KATZ Fearing the possibility that airfields will be bombed and destroyed during a war, the Israel Air Force has expressed interest in purchasing a squadron of Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) with vertical take-off and landing capabilities. In September, the IDF announced its plans to purchase at least 25 F-35 jets, with the option to purchase up to dozens more. Delivery was initially scheduled for 2014, but The Jerusalem Post revealed in October that the Pentagon had in principle agreed to work to move up delivery of the fifth-generation and...

Israel Wants JSF As Soon As Possible Dec 16, 2007 David A. Fulghum, Robert Wall and Douglas Barrie Israel plans to keep its aerial domination of the Middle East intact, and that includes buying Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, accelerating its first deliveries, and deciding whose advanced equipment will be packed into the stealthy strike aircraft. A senior Israeli air force (IAF) official says those major areas of concern appear to be on the right track because of an “understanding” with the U.S. officials. Washington’s representatives are more ambiguous, saying that there has been no official change to Israel’s...

Lockheed's F-35 program isn't exactly proceeding as planned Earlier this week, DailyTechreported that the Pentagon is trying to sweep some money under the rug to pay for additional Lockheed F-22 fighter planes. Increased concerns over the reliability and structural soundness of the 30-year-old F-15 have lead to the calls for more of the $132 million USD F-22s.It appears that the old F-15 isn't the only aircraft in the U.S. arsenal that is having problems. The F-35 program is facing setbacks of its own. The F-35 program suffered a serious setback on May 3 when a critical electrical system failure occurred...

Earlier versions of this article have been published in the Dutch press, Defesa@Net and Defense-Aerospace. DID has worked with the author to create an edited version with full documentation of sources. On May 3, 2007, during the 19th test flight of the prototype of the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), a serious electrical malfunction occurred in the control of the plane. After an emergency landing the malfunction could be identified as a crucial problem, and it became clear that redesign of critical electronic components was necessary. Producer Lockheed Martin and program officials first announced there was a minor problem, and...

Taxpayers may pay big F-35 costs By BOB COX Star-Telegram Staff Writer Monday, Dec 3, 2007 Foreign nations are in no rush to place orders for Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, and that threatens to push the planes' rising cost even higher and shrink future orders. The result is that one way or another U.S. taxpayers will likely shoulder most of the cost of getting the F-35 into production, with the bulk of foreign orders not coming until years from now, when jet prices will have dropped dramatically. Lockheed and the Pentagon have been talking with representatives of...

RAF to get Star Wars-style helmets By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent  Last Updated: 3:22pm GMT 09/11/2007     Pilots flying the next generation of jet fighters will use futuristic, Star Wars-style helmets, the Ministry of Defence has revealed.The headgear being developed for the new, American-built F35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will display navigation and targeting information on the inside of the pilot’s visor.Precision head tracking software will allow pilots to "see through" the cockpit floor, with infra-red images of the ground below, during day or night time, being beamed in front of their eyes.The advanced helmet mounted display is reminiscent...

PALMDALE - Six years after the contract was first awarded, Northrop Grumman Corp. employees Friday marked another milestone along the path to fielding the nation's next fighter, the F-35 Lightning II. The center fuselage for the first Air Force near-production version of the fighter was unveiled Friday at the company's Palmdale Manufacturing Center. The fuselage incorporates design changes made during development to decrease weight in the final fighter. "This is starting a new phase for what will be a very unique fighter capability," said Air Force Maj. Gen. C.R. Davis, program executive officer for the F-35. The latest - and...

Oct 25, 2007 0:56 US to speed up stealth fighter delivery By YAAKOV KATZ In an effort to bolster the Israel Air Force in the face of Iran's race toward nuclear power, the Pentagon has agreed to move up delivery of its newest stealth fighter to Israel by two years, to as early as 2012, The Jerusalem Post has learned. Last month, the IDF announced plans to purchase a squadron (at least 25 aircraft) of the fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter. That delivery was expected to commence in 2014. During meetings Defense Minister Ehud Barak held at the Pentagon last week,...

If the challenging technology can be developed as planned, the YAL-1A Airborne Laser will become USAF’s first operational airborne laser weapon. Plans call for the ABL to take its first realistic test shot at the end of 2008. The ABL is, essentially, a 747-type cargo aircraft equipped with a powerful chemical laser weapon, primed for shooting down ballistic missiles in their boost phase. The ABL, however, probably will mark just the start of a broader laser era. Service officials believe the combat potential of lasers—for offensive and defensive weapons, protective systems, sensors, and myriad other military applications—goes well beyond the...

When the first F-35 Lightning II rolls out in 2008, communications between pilot and aircraft will enter a new era thanks in part to testing and analysis conducted at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Human Effectiveness Directorate. The F-35 will be the first U.S. fighter aircraft with a speech recognition system able to "hear" a pilot's spoken commands to manage various aircraft subsystems, such as communications and navigation. Researchers at the directorate's Warfighter Interface Division are collecting data and recommending improvements now to ensure optimal performance when the F-35's new speech recognition system undergoes future operational tests, said David Williamson,...

UK and Italy weight Eurofighter options Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:41am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Defence officials from Britain and Italy have asked the Eurofighter consortium for information on their options as they weigh budgets to buy fighter jets from both Europe and the United States. A spokesman for the Eurofighter consortium said it was working on implementation of an existing plan for the sale of 236 planes to four countries. This proposal is due by the end of the year. These make up the last tranche of 620 ordered under the four-nation programme involving Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain....

Japan launched the first of its new helicopter-carrying destroyers, the Hyuga, amid great fanfare. This vessel, officially 13,500 tons, will be able to carry helicopters. Plans are for them to mostly carry SH-60 helicopters, but the Hyuga will give Japan its first real power projection capability since 1945. Japan plans to build at least two Hyuga-class vessels, which can carry up to 11 helicopters, displace 13,500 tons, and are equipped with a Mk41 VLS, giving them the ability for fire air-defense missiles like the Standard and the ESSM, and a vertically-launched ASROC, but also the Tomahawk cruise missile, if Japan...

Israel sets F-35 Joint Strike Fighter specifications By Arie Egozi The Israeli air force has completed a review of its design requirements for a national variant of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, with Tel Aviv expecting to make a decision to buy up to 100 of the US aircraft under a multi-year procurement. Details of the air force's unique requirements remain classified, but are known to include a locally built electronic-warfare suite and a new internally carried bomb to be developed by Israel Military Industries. The general staff of the Israeli defence forces will soon decide how many F-35s...

August 16, 2007: Is the F-35 overhyped? That is one question that is being asked in light of both American refusal to release the source code for software, as well as the climbing price (up to $63 million per plane). The real answer depends on what competing aircraft have to offer. How does the F-35 compare in the air-to-air mission against likely competitors like the French Rafale, the Swedish Gripen, and the multi-national Eurofighter? All of European planes boast some of the best electronics suites that have ever provided for a combat aircraft. All are capable of high speed (over...

Lockheed Martin overcharged the US government by $265 million on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter development programme, the company announced on 9 August. The company is now in the process of reimbursing the funds to the government, although it was not immediately clear if the funds will be returned to the JSF programme office for reinvestment or go elsewhere. “We are working with the government to determine the appropriate amount of interest” owed, according to a released company dossier. The government’s joint programme office did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. The overbilling issue was discovered during a...

In a major move, the United States has sent feelers that it is now ready for transfer of hi-technology weaponry to India, including its fifth generation Joint Strike Fighter F-35. Though Pentagon has offered New Delhi participation in its missile shield, top of the shelf 4th generation F-16 and F-18/A fighters, weapon locating radars and its new brand of long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, it has so far kept the F-35 under wraps. But in a surprise move last week, a high-level team from US Defence Major Lockheed Martin met top officials of the Indian Air Force to convey that...

FORT WORTH, Texas, June 28 (UPI) -- All three versions of the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter have now cleared the final milestone needed before entering the production phase. The carrier version of the cutting-edge F-35 recently passed its Air System Critical Design Review, putting it on track for Low Rate Initial Production. The conventional and short-takeoff, vertical landing variants of the plane passed the CDR earlier and have been approved for LRIP. "The die is now fully cast for the unique, three-variant Joint Strike Fighter program envisioned when the planning began in the late 1990s," said Air Force Brig. Gen....

Forces tag $3.8B to buy advanced jets Joint Strike Fighter studied to replace CF-18s in the next decade David Pugliese The Ottawa Citizen June 27, 2007 Canada's military is setting aside almost $4 billion for the purchase of a fleet of futuristic fighter jets that will replace its CF-18s in the next decade. The Canadian Forces is creating a new office in Ottawa in August to deal with its future fighter needs and plan how it will proceed with replacing the existing CF-18 jets. The government has committed to investing in the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter and an air force...

Lockheed Martin said its Electro Optical Targeting System (EOTS) for the F-35 Lightning II successfully completed its inaugural flight test, demonstrating its capability as a multi-functional system for precision air-to-air and air-to-surface targeting. The flight test began the first phase of a three-phase flight test program. EOTS eventually will fly aboard the Cooperative Avionics Test Bed aircraft, joined by the complete F-35 sensor suite during the second quarter of 2008. EOTS provides high-resolution imagery, automatic tracking, infrared-search-and-track, laser designation and rangefinding and laser spot tracking at increased standoff ranges. Lockheed Martin said the flight test met all objectives, including demonstration...

This is the new helmet-mounted display system for the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter. The helmet is designed to provide pilots with binocular-wide field-of-view, give night vision abilities and scare enemy pilots at first sight. It was used for the first time last April, making the F-35 the first combat plane without a cockpit-mounted heads-up display in a very long time. Beyond making the pilot look like a spooky insect (comic book nerd moment: the Morpheus helmet from Neil Gaiman's Sandman comes to mind), the F-35 HDMS is loaded with all kinds of amazing goodies, like extreme off-axis targeting...

4/27/2007 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNEWS) -- All systems are moving toward "go" here as officials prepare for upcoming tests on the next-generation strike fighter, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. A new mission control room opened its doors earlier this month, equipped so the Integrated Test Force will be able to monitor real-time performance of the aircraft during its test missions here beginning this fall. The long-awaited aircraft, the first to be developed within the Defense Department to meet the needs of three services, promises state-of-the-art technology at a cost officials say simply couldn't be matched...

THE Australian aerospace industry stands to reap about $9 billion from its involvement in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program over the next three decades, according to the plane's US developer, Lockheed Martin. Lockheed F-35 program manager Abhay Paranjape said Australian companies were already earmarked to receive work worth about $5 billion, provided they continued to provide best-value solutions for the project. This did not include work on the fighter's engines, and included no multiplier effect. The US defence firm has moved from the traditional model of industrial offsets for plane orders to a system of competition between countries for...

Australian Air Power Controversy: F-35 and Super Hornets Under Fire Posted 07-Mar-2007 10:11 Related stories: Australia & S. Pacific, Fighters & Attack, Issues - International, Issues - Political, Lobbying Also on this day: 07-Mar-2007 » F-18F & the barrier(click to view full) In "Retired RAAF Vice-Marshal: Abandon F-35, Buy F-22s (updated)," DID covered the controversy over the F-35A Lightning II's suitability for Australia's strategic needs, amidst a flurry of criticism from opposition party critics, the media, and even retired military officials. Australia's government went ahead and signed the F-35 Production MoU, which doesn't commit them to buy the aircraft...

AUSTRALIA's largest defence project, the $15 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is now almost certain to go ahead after the US formally ruled out the only viable alternative warplane for the RAAF. The US Deputy Defence Secretary Gordon England has written to Defence Minister Brendan Nelson saying the US will not export the world's most deadly warplane - the F-22 Raptor - to Australia. The US statement ends a growing debate among defence experts about which plane should replace the RAAF's ageing F-111 strike bombers and form the front line of the nation's future air force. It makes it virtually...

It is one thing to see a fifth-generation fighter from afar. It is quite another to see one close up. Lockheed Martin corporate photographer Eric Schulzinger spent some time with the first F-35 just before its inauguration ceremony in July. His results highlight some unique aspects of the F-35 Lightning II. The intricate curves indicate a balance between high performance and stealth. The panel seams highlight the incredibly tight manufacturing tolerances. These detail images blur the boundaries between technology and art. The first F-35 carries no radar. Space in the nose of the aircraft normally allocated to the radar contains...

F-35 Lightning II Initial Flight The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter makes its initial flight Dec. 15 over Fort Worth, Texas. (Lockheed Martin photo/David Drais)

PALMDALE - Celebrating the next phase in the nation's newest fighter jet program, Northrop Grumman Corp. unveiled the center fuselage for the second variant of the jet Monday. This short take-off and vertical landing version of the F-35 Lightning II is intended for the Marine Corps in this country, as well as for future sales to international partners. The latest - and possibly last - manned fighter for the nation's armed services is envisioned as a truly joint-service fighter, with three variations of the same basic aircraft to meet the various needs of the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps....

Lockheed Martin has released video of the 15 December first flight of its F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. F-35 chief pilot Jon Beesley was at the controls for the 35min flight from Fort Worth, Texas. The first was shorter than planned because an air-data sensor anomaly required Beesley to return and he did not get a chance to cycle the landing gear as planned, so the F-35 completes the entire flight with the gear down. Things to look for in the video are the forward-hinging canopy that provides easy cockpit access; and the lack of a head-up display –...

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 15, 2006 – The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Lightning II lifted into the skies today for the first time, completing a successful inaugural flight and initiating the most comprehensive flight test program in military aviation history. “The Lightning II performed beautifully,” said F-35 Chief Pilot Jon Beesley following the flight. “What a great start for the flight-test program, and a testimony to the people who have worked so hard to make this happen.” The most powerful engine ever placed in a fighter aircraft – the Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan, with 40,000 pounds of thrust...

Crowds of employees streamed out of their offices and hangars at the Lockheed Martin plant in Fort Worth today. The Joint Strike Fighter sped down the runway at 127 miles an hour, but it didn’t take flight. The first test flight of the stealth aircraft is expected this week. Three branches of the US military and eight countries are counting on the success of the Joint Strike Fighter. That's a lot of stress on one man. The top gun in the cockpit, the man entrusted with this $60 million dollar machine, is a grandfather of ten children. “Doesn't fit...

The UK has cleared a major hurdle over its purchase of Lockheed martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) after years of dispute over the ability to support and maintain the aircraft in the UK. Coming a day before the aircraft, officially dubbed the Lightning II, is due to make its maiden flight, UK defence minister Lord Drayson signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US deputy secretary of defence Gordon England during a visit in Washington, DC today over the next phase of the project. The agreement guarantees "operational sovereignty" for the UK, Drayson says. Operational sovereignty is defined as...

Britain should cancel a deal with the United States to purchase Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jets if America does not share sensitive technology by the end of the year, a report by the parliamentary defense committee will say, the Financial Times reported on Dec.8. The yearly report on British weapons spending, which is due to be released Dec. 8, says “it is still uncertain whether the U.S. is prepared to provide the required information”, despite Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush agreeing in May that Britain would get the technology it needed.