User:SidewinderX/Sandbox/F-35 Subsection

While the United States is the primary customer and financial backer, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway and Denmark have agreed to contribute US$4.375 billion toward the development costs of the program. Total development costs are estimated at more than US$40 billion (underwritten largely by the United States), while the purchase of an estimated 2,400 planes is expected to cost an additional US$200 billion. The nine major partner nations plan to acquire over 3,100 F-35s through 2035, making the F-35 one of the most numerous jet fighters.



There are three levels of international participation. The levels generally reflect the financial stake in the program, the amount of technology transfer and subcontracts open for bid by national companies, and the order in which countries can obtain production aircraft. The United Kingdom is the sole "Level 1" partner, contributing US$2.5 billion, which was about 10% of the planned development costs under the 1995 Memorandum of Understanding that brought the UK into the project. Level 2 partners are Italy, which is contributing US$1 billion; and the Netherlands, US$800 million. Level 3 partners are Canada, US$475 million; Turkey, US$195 million; Australia, US$144 million; Norway, US$122 million and Denmark, US$110 million. Israel and Singapore have joined as Security Cooperative Participants (SCP).

Some of the partner countries have wavered in their public commitment to the JSF program, hinting or warning that unless they receive more subcontracts or technology transfer, they will forsake JSF for the Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, Dassault Rafale or simply upgrade their existing aircraft. Furthermore, F-35 export competitiveness has been hurt by international buyers finding either its export variant too costly per unit or "watered down", although the program executive officer, Brigadier General David Heinz stated that exported F-35s will be of the same configuration as US F-35s. While the F-16E/F costs $50 million per export copy, the F-35 is likely to cost between $65–120 million.

United Kingdom
The United Kingdom planned to acquire 138 F-35Bs as of December 2006 for the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. But speculation mounts in 2009 that they may switch from the F-35B to the F-35C model, with its greater range and payload the UK would require fewer aircraft and save about $25 million for each aircraft ordered.

The UK became increasingly frustrated by a lack of U.S. commitment to grant access to the technology that would allow the UK to maintain and upgrade its F-35s without US involvement. This is understood to relate mainly to the software for the aircraft. For five years, British officials sought an ITAR waiver to secure greater technology transfer. This request, which had the blessing of the Bush administration, was repeatedly blocked by U.S. Representative Henry Hyde, who said that the UK needed to tighten its laws protecting against the unauthorized transfer of the most advanced U.S. technology to third parties.

On 12 December 2006, Lord Drayson signed an agreement which met the UK's demands for further participation, i.e., access to software source code and operational sovereignty. The agreement allows "an unbroken British chain of command" for operation of the aircraft. Drayson said Britain would "not be required to have a US citizen in our own operational chain of command". Drayson also said, however, that Britain is still considering an unspecified "Plan B" alternative to buying the Joint Strike Fighter.

Italy
Italy is the second largest contributor partner after the UK in the JSF program. As of October 2008, Italy outlined a requirement for 131 F-35s for the Aeronautica Militare and Marina Militare. Present plans schedule the acquisition of 69 F-35As and 62 F-35Bs. Italian Navy will get 22 F-35Bs while the Air Force will get 69 F-35A and 40 F-35B STOVL version aircraft. The Navy plans to use the F-35Bs on the new Cavour STOVL carrier.

Alenia Aeronautica will be the second source supplier of the wing box. Under the terms of agreement Alenia Aeronautica is slated to produce more than 1,200 wings for the F-35 for the nine partners, United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Canada, Denmark and Norway. Additionally, Italy's Air Base of Cameri will be the only Final Assembly and Check Out/Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul & Upgrade (FACO/MRO&U) facility outside the US, for the final assembly of F-35s to be delivered to Italy and the Netherlands, with an estimated cost of $775 million. The FACO could also operate as a regional maintenance and support center within the F-35 logistics solution.

Netherlands
The Netherlands has plans to acquire 85 F-35As for the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The aircraft will replace an aging fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16AM. The Dutch government expects the costs to be €5.5 billion for the initial purchase and €9.1 billion for 30 years of service; which comes down to a lifetime cost of about 215 Million US$ per unit. On 19 November 2007, in the Dutch Parliament, the Secretary of Defence was questioned about the JSF delay, technical problems and rising costs. However, on 29 February 2008, the executive council of the Dutch government decided to go ahead with the purchase of two test aircraft and a MOU was signed. On 7 September 2008 Dutch television show "Reporter" reports that counter orders are lagging behind compared to promises and that an active lobby by the Royal Netherlands Air Force has manipulated the Dutch government into participating in the project.

The Dutch parliament has voted to cancel its order for the first test series. Because there is only a caretaker government at the moment, Defence Minister Van Middelkoop stated he can and will not honour the wishes of the parliament.

Canada
Canada has been involved in the Joint Strike Fighter Program from its beginning, investing US$10 million to be an "informed partner" during the evaluation process. Once Lockheed Martin was selected as the primary contractor for the JSF program, Canada elected to become a level 3 participant along with Norway, Denmark, Turkey, and Australia on the JSF project. An additional US$100 million from the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) over 10 years and another $50 million from Industry Canada were dedicated in 2002, making them an early participant of the JSF program.

On 16 July 2010, the Canadian government announced that it would buy 65 F-35s to replace the existing 80 CF-18s for $16B (with all ancillary costs included) starting in 2016. The purchase announcement has created Canadian media speculation that, with the national opposition parties uniting against the sole-source contract, this contract may bring down the minority Conservative government and force an election over the issue. The media have criticized the aircraft as being too expensive, too short-ranged, and too complex for Canada's needs.

There has also been much support for the program. Many members of the opposition Liberal party, such as retired general Romeo Dallaire and former Quebec Liberal MP Jacques Saada have sided with the Conservative government's purchase of the F-35s. Dallaire has referred to the F-35 as an "excellent" fighter and has suggested Canada should actually purchase more than the contracted 65, while Saada, the current head of Quebec's Aerospace Association (AQA), claimed the contract was the culmination of a "very serious" competitive bidding process in the late 1990s - countering the claims of the two opposition parties.

Canadian Wikipedia controversy
On 28 July 2010 the National Post newspaper reported that IP addresses registered to the Canadian Department of National Defence Defence Research Establishment Ottawa had been used on 20 and 21 July to try to remove text critical of the Canadian government's F-35 purchase from the Wikipedia article on the aircraft. Repeated attempts to remove the text and add insults to the opposition were made by three IP addresses at the establishment. Martin Champoux, DRDC Manager of Public Affairs indicated it was not part of a government campaign to eliminate criticism, stating, "It sounds to me like someone was freelancing. This is not behaviour we commonly condone." Champoux indicated organization IT specialists are attempting to track down the people responsible and that employees will be reminded about government regulations regarding personal computer use.

Turkey
On 12 July 2002, Turkey became the seventh international partner in the JSF Project, joining the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Denmark and Norway. On 25 January 2007, Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for involvement in F-35 production. The Turkish Air Force is planning to initially order 116 F-35A "CTOL/Air Force versions" at a reported cost of $11 billion. In October 2009, Murad Bayar, head of the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, has said that Turkey may increase its order to 120 aircraft instead of purchasing Eurofighter Typhoons.

Australia


Australia is participating in the F-35's development, and is expected that overall, 72 or more F-35As will be ordered to replace the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF's) F/A-18 Hornet aircraft. The Australian Government announced that it would buy into the F-35's development on 22 June 2002. This decision ended the competition to replace Australia's F/A-18 and F-111 aircraft before it formally began, with other aircraft manufacturers being advised that it would not be worth submitting proposals. The Government argued that joining the F-35 program at an early stage would allow Australia to influence the F-35's development, provide the Government with information on the aircraft's suitability, and generate savings of over $600 million if an order for F-35s is eventually placed. Australia formally signed up to the F-35 Systems Development and Demonstration phase as a Level 3 participant on 30 October 2002.

There has been much debate in Australia over whether the F-35 is the most suitable aircraft for the RAAF. It has been claimed that the F-35's performance is inferior to Russian-built fighters operated by countries near Australia (such as the Su-27 and Su-30 in Indonesia), that it cannot meet the RAAF's long-range strike requirement, and that further delays to the F-35 program may result in the RAAF experiencing a shortage of combat aircraft. The RAAF has stated that it believes that the F-35 will meet Australia's needs, and both of Australia's major political parties currently support the development and purchase of the aircraft (though differences remain on the deadline and the number of aircraft).

Norway
Norway participates in the F-35 program as a Level 3 partner in the System Development and Demonstration phase with a view to enabling its industry to compete for industrial opportunities. Norwegian National Deputy Rune Fagerli, the country's sole representative on the Joint Strike Fighter program, told SPACE.com the Norwegian Royal Ministry of Defence has pledged $125 million in preparations to replace a fleet of F-16 jets that have about 12 years left of operation. "By getting involved here, on the ground level, we can try and address the needs of Norway into this capable fighter early," said Fagerli, a colonel.

Norway has several times threatened to put their support on hold unless substantial guarantees for an increased industrial share is provided. Despite this Norway has signed all the Memoranda of Understanding, including the latest one detailing the future production phase of the JSF program. They have, however, indicated that they will increase and strengthen their cooperation with both competitors of the JSF, the Typhoon and the Gripen.

Denmark
Denmark has joined the Joint Strike Fighter program as a Level 3 partner and the Royal Danish Air Force is considering the replacement of 48 of its aging F-16 fighters with next generation aircraft.

Denmark's MPs are not expected to vote on a purchase of the F-35 before 2012, and are considering alternatives such as the JAS 39 Gripen, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and Eurofighter.

Israel
In 2003, Israel signed a formal letter of agreement, worth almost $20 million, to join the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) effort for the F-35 as a "security cooperation participant" (SCP). The Israeli Air Force (IAF) stated in 2006 that the F-35 is a key part of IAF's recapitalization plans, and that Israel intends to buy over 100 F-35A fighters at an estimated cost of over $5 billion to replace their F-16s over time. Israel was reinstated as a partner in the development of the F-35 on 31 July 2006, after Israeli participation was put on hold following the Chinese arms deal crisis.

Singapore
In February 2003, Singapore joined the JSF program's System Design and Development (SDD) Phase, as a Security Co-operation Participant (SCP). Singapore could be buying up to 100 F-35s.

Potential exports
The F-35 is a possible future offer to the Indian Air Force as of July 2007. This has been interpreted as part of a tactic to sell the F-16 as a multirole fighter to the IAF, as part of its competition to acquire 126 new fighters. Lockheed Martin formally expressed its interest to sell F-35s to India. It is also known that the Indian Navy has shown interest in buying the F-35B. Lockheed Martin has offered ‘B’and ‘C’ versions of the F-35 fighters aircraft to meet Indian Navy’s requirements for carrier-based combat aircraft.

The Brazilian Air Force recently has added the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the list of aircraft under consideration for its relaunched new fighter procurement, called F-X2. The F-35 replaces the F-16, which was in contention for the previous F-X BR program, shelved in 2003 and finally abandoned in 2006. Lockheed Martin did not offer the F-35 and instead bid the F-16BR in 2008.

The Finnish Air Force has expressed its interest in the F-35, and other "advanced aircraft", as the replacement for its F-18C Hornets. An eventual purchase decision would be taken around 2015.

The future Spanish Navy ship Juan Carlos I (L61) is adapted to carry JSF and AV-8B Harrier.

Lockheed Martin is offering the F-35 to Greece's Hellenic Air Force as a replacement for F-4E Peace Icarus 2000 and F-16C/D Block 30 aircraft.

Taiwan has requested to buy the F-35 from the US. However this has been rejected by the US in fear of a critical response from China. In March 2009 Taiwan again was looking to buy U.S. fifth-generation fighter jets featuring stealth and vertical takeoff capabilities.

The United States has asked Japan for a billion yen for basic information about the F-35 and is only willing to disclose information about the F-35's stealth features after Japan commits to the purchase. The Japanese Defense Ministry did not include a request for the fighter in its 2011 budget, but it has strong support in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

South Korea is considering the F-35 amongst several other competitors for the third stage of its F-X program.

The United Arab Emirates has requested information about a possible sale of F-35s, however the United States has delayed for months on the response.