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(Most of the article consitsted of Q and A in English afer a Norwegian-language introduction. I informally translated the introduction. This is the Eurofighter programs representative answering Norwegian public questions regarding his fighter. It follows an earlier article in which a USAF Colonel did the same re. JSF) The Eurofighter is Europe's largest defense industry cooperation project. Aughorities and industry in Germany, Itlay, Spain and England have developed the figher they hope will give air superiority in Europe or decades to come. David R. Hamilton, marketing director for Eurofigher has deliverdthe following offer to Norway: 48 planes for approximately 35...

(Note: This article was mostly in English with a short Norwegian introduction) WHY SHOULD NORWAY CHOOSE AMERICAN FIGHTERS? (Dagbladet.no): Officials in the USA are Noway's negotiating partners in the Joint Strike Fighter-project. The aircraft, still under developent and not having yet taken wing, will be the new backbone in the USA's combat aircraft fleet. It benefits from stealth and other super-technologies developed for the world's most advanced (and expensive) combat aircraft, the F-22 Raptor. - It is for this reason we can offer Norway 48 JSFs for 20 billion Norwegian Crowns. Much of the technology is already developed for the...

More Signs of a Future Hollow Force? The Air Force Cuts a Corner by James Jay Carafano, Ph.D. WebMemo #1039 April 18, 2006 | | The budget decisions derived from the Defense Department’s Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) suggest more and more that the military’s long-term preparedness is in doubt. The QDR is a mandatory assessment of resources, force structure, and programs that the Pentagon provides the President and Congress. It also outlines strategy for addressing issues such as budget and acquisition priorities. A recent Air Force decision to terminate the alternative engine program for its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) raises...

The Turkish defence industry will be so reliant on work on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) that if it does not get access to a greater potential share of subcontracts for the next-generation fighter it could suffer badly, a top Turkish defence industry official has said. If they do not get more work on the JSF, "they will be left out in the cold", Bayar said at the annual American Turkish Council conference in Washington, DC. "They will have small minor projects they could take part in, but if they don't have a role in JSF that would be...

NATO member Turkey plans to buy 100 new-generation combat aircraft under a $10 billion (8.3 billion euro) project over the next 20 years, Anatolia news agency quoted a senior official as saying March 28. By the end of the year, Ankara will make a choice between the U.S. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, whose construction is led by Lockheed Martin, and the Eurofighter, being built by a European consortium, the head of the defense industries undersecretariat, Murad Bayar, said in Washington.

Progress seen in F-35 tech transfer talks Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:28 AM GMT By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There is more optimism about the prospects of buying the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter after crucial talks with U.S. officials over technology transfers went well, a British embassy spokesman said on Monday. The sophisticated, radar-evading F-35 will cost an estimated $256 billion (146 billion pounds) for the 2,593 jets that the United States and Britain plan to buy. Britain alone would likely spend $25 billion to buy and maintain its F-35 aircraft over the next 40 years, according to the...

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Defense Department's chief weapons buyer said Thursday that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program could continue without its international partners, if current disputes over export controls and engine makers escalated to a point of no return. Ken Krieg, the Pentagon's undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said such a showdown was hardly imminent. "I don't think we're at that stage," Krieg said at a House Armed Services Committee panel hearing. But when pressed, Krieg acknowledged that continuing the program without the U.K. was possible. Britain is the lead partner on the $256 billion program headed by...

Computer codes row threatens £12bn jet order By Francis Harris in Washington (Filed: 15/03/2006) Britain threatened the United States yesterday that it will cancel its £12 billion order for the new Joint Strike Fighter unless America agrees to give the Armed Forces full access to the warplane's critical computer codes. Lord Drayson, Minister for Defence Procurement, issued the blunt warning as he arrived in Washington to address members of Congress. Without full access to computer software the JSF could be ‘switched off’ The bad-tempered row not only threatens the 150-aircraft programme, but also the intimate Anglo-American military partnership. Without full...

DOD angers GE, Brits on joint fighter plan WASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- A row between General Electric and the Pentagon over the new joint fighter plane will hit Congress next week. International partners working on the Joint Strike Fighter, a next-generation aircraft for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps as well as U.S. allies, will weigh in next week on Pentagon plans to freeze domestic giant General Electric Co. and the British firm Rolls-Royce out of lucrative work on the program, Congress Daily reported. Representatives from eight countries will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee March 14...

Anglo-US defence deals in jeopardy Tom McGhie and Jack Gee, Mail on Sunday 26 February 2006 BRITAIN may consider buying up to 150 French fighter jets for two new-generation aircraft carriers scheduled to go into service with the Royal Navy in 2013. If the Government went ahead with the £5bn deal, it would mean cancelling existing US contracts to supply aircraft for the carriers and could cause a major crisis in Anglo-American relations. The unexpected verbal offer to buy the Rafale Marine jets came on January 24 when Defence Secretary John Reid met his opposite number, Michele Alliot-Marie, for crucial...

FIRST F-35 EXITS LOCKHEED MARTIN FACTORY, PREPARES FOR TESTING FORT WORTH, Texas, February 20, 2006 -- The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Joint Strike Fighter team has completed assembly of the first F-35 aircraft and moved it out of the factory in preparation for an intensive period of ground testing. First flight of the F-35, a conventional takeoff and landing version, remains on schedule for this fall. The first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter moves from the factory to a fueling facility at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, on Feb.19 achieving another major milestone toward first flight planned later this...

Bush to propose cuts in fighter plane production, Army Reserve By Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press Mideast edition, Sunday, January 29, 2006 WASHINGTON — President Bush will use his new budget to propose cutting the size of the Army Reserve to its lowest level in three decades and stripping up to $4 billion from two fighter aircraft programs. The proposals, likely to face opposition on Capitol Hill, come as the Defense Department struggles to trim personnel costs and other expenses to pay for the war in Iraq and a host of other pricey aircraft and high-tech programs. Bush will...

Costs hit fighter jet order AUSTRALIA may halve its order for US F-35 joint strike fighter jets to 50 planes because of continuing cost blowouts on the $256billion project, a move that could threaten regional air superiority. Australia had pledged to buy 100 of the radar-evading stealth aircraft to replace an ageing air wing of 71 F/A-18 attack aircraft and 26 F-111 tactical fighter bombers. The first of the US-built Lockheed Martin joint strike fighter aircraft are due to be delivered to Australia in 2014. Australia has joined its allies in the project to build the planes, which has enabled...

Britain in battle with US over fighter plane Peter Almond and Dominic O'Connell BRITAIN is threatening to pull out of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), a co-operative combat-aircraft project with America that is one of the largest military programmes in the world. The move, confirmed to The Sunday Times by senior defence officials, could have serious repercussions for BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, Britain’s two main contributors to the project. BAE is part of the consortium developing the plane, and had expected revenues of about $24 billion (£13.8 billion) in development and production contracts. Rolls-Royce is developing the lift fan for...

The innovative potential of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program for the Dutch knowledge economy is immense. In addition, the JSF project generates 23,000 years of employment in the development and production phases of the program: high-quality employment with little chance of leakage to other countries, since the Netherlands are a partner country in the JSF program. These conclusions are part of an interim report on spin-off and spillover effects in the JSF program by CentER Applied Research, institute of applied research at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Tilburg University. The research was an initiative of Tilburg...

A spokesperson for the JSF project told The Indian Express in an e-mail from Fort Worth, ‘‘I can tell you that F-35 JSF partnership in the strict sense of the term is closed, but we anticipate selling many F-35s to non-partner nations.’’ He added, ‘‘As you may know, the decision to allow the sale of F-35s to any country is made by the US government, not by Lockheed-Martin.’’

ACCORDING TO MEDIA reports, the Defense Department is considering canceling two supersonic jet fighters that are on the Pentagon's drawing board: the Air Force's F/A-22 Raptor and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. There is no doubt that even with the defense budget at historical highs, the Pentagon cannot afford the $1.5 trillion worth of weapons that the military services would like to purchase. However, although the Defense Department is correct in trying to slash the F/A-22, it is dead wrong in trying to save money by canceling the Joint Strike Fighter. The F/A-22 Raptor is the most unnecessary weapon system...

Boeing Co.'s St. Louis-made F-15 Eagle used to be the sure thing of fighter jet procurement. Now the aging fighter is just a long shot in its own country. Jim Albaugh, chief executive of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, says the odds are against the U.S. Air Force signing a multiyear deal to buy more F-15s. That assessment isn't surprising as the Pentagon prepares to spend billions of dollars over the next few decades for the F/A-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, two planes under development by Lockheed Martin Corp. Still, some influential members of Congress say the Air Force...

<p>As the early 2006 Main Gate decision on the UK's Future Carrier (CVF) programme nears, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has acknowledged that it is conducting parallel work to determine whether the short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) remains best equipped to meet its Joint Combat Aircraft (JCA) requirement.</p>

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany — It will be more than six years until the military has its first operational squadron of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. But Trey Evans, 14, got to fly the supersonic and stealthy jet last week and raved about it. “This is great,” he said, smiling afterward. “I could do it all day.” He flew a computer simulator, of course. Plane builder Lockheed Martin brought its traveling F-35 cockpit sim to Spangdahlem and Ramstein Air Base to show off the future fighter. A team from Lockheed Martin, based in Texas, is touring Europe, bringing the cockpit to...