"phil hunt" wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 13:57:59 GMT, Kevin Brooks
wrote:

Nice try. Israel wanted in as a level one thru three participant--it did
not
make it.

How do levels 1 to 3 work?

From the AFA:

"Partially underwriting the $25 billion development effort are the program's
eight international partners. As a group, the partners have ponied up about
$4.3 billion to have a role in the project. The United Kingdom, having
kicked in $2 billion, is the largest contributor and the only Level 1
partner. This status allows London a voice in decisions regarding
requirements and technology sharing. It also purchases the UK a place at the
front of the queue for export sales. At Level 2 are Italy, with a $1 billion
contribution, and the Netherlands, with about $800 million. Neither country
has yet committed to buying the JSF, but both contribute national know-how
and receive some industrial benefits from their involvement. Level 3
partners include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Turkey, each of
which has contributed $125 million to $150 million. None has committed to
buying the airplane, but all are involved in technical issues and technology
transfer. It is assumed the partner countries-all of which have purchased
the US-produced F-16, F/A-18, or AV-8B fighters-will buy some version of the
airplane designed to succeed those three aircraft....Nations at any of the
three levels enjoy the official title of "partners." DOD capped the number
of international partners at eight last fall, but other countries that would
like to purchase the airplane (or compete for a smaller work share) will be
called "participants." To date, the only two nations in this category are
Israel and Singapore." (www.afa.org/magazine/april2003/0403F35.asp )

Brooks