2006: Critical Year for World’s Fighter Builders

Posted on: Nov. 28th, 2005 || Source: defensenews.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

The coming year promises to be the busiest and most competitive for combat jet competition in recent history.

It’s the year of purchase decisions for the nations that are helping to develop the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The program is slated to build about 2,500 planes for the U.S. and British militaries for more than $256 billion, but purchases from other JSF partner nations could nearly double the totals.

But even as prime contractor Lockheed Martin sets a 12-month schedule for negotiating production contracts, some partners are wondering about other options. Their doubts are caused by soaring development costs, swirling rumors of U.S. cuts and growing international worries about relationships with the United States.

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