Norway may ditch the JSF!

Hi All

Heres something from Reuters...


"U.S. arms giant Lockheed Martin Corp , which made the F-16s, was
accused by Norwegian politicians of failing to hand out enough
sub-contracts to Norwegian firms under a plan to develop a new
generation fighter.

"Up until 2009, Norway will consider all serious candidates," Defence
Minister Kristin Krohn Devold said of a decision between loyalty to
NATO ally Washington or switching to European partners.

"The main criteria for the choice will be the operational capability
of the plane," Krohn Devold told Reuters.

Norway has taken a stake in development of the Lockheed Martin F-35
Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) but is also considering the Eurofighter
jet.

Gripen, built by Sweden's Saab and Britain's BAE Systems , and French
Dassault's Rafale have previously been sidelined in Norway's political
debate. Analysts say that the Norwegian military clearly favours the
JSF.

Krohn Devold said there were favourites but declined to name any.
Asked if there were now three options, she said: "Or four. There is no
limit. All candidates will be considered."

Earlier, the head of parliamentary defence committee said that Norway
was looking at the Gripen jet because of disappointment over a lack of
Norwegian sub-contracts in developing the JSF.

"We have paid a lot of money to be part of the Joint Strike Fighter
project but so far it has not yielded much," Marit Nybakk told
Reuters.
"We have put a knife to their throat and told Lockheed Martin that we
will pull out of the cooperation unless there are some changes,"
Nybakk told Reuters.

Nybakk, an opposition Labour Party parliamentarian, denied that the
entry of the Gripen into the contest was an empty threat to wring
concessions from Lockheed.

Asked about Nybakk's criticisms, Krohn Devold said: "It is important
to get industrial opportunities through a purchase."

"We have received some but we would like to get more," said Krohn
Devold, a Conservative who has been criticised by opposition
politicans for being too pro-Washington.

Norway pays 100 million crowns ($14.50 million) a year for 10 years to
be part of the JSF development. Nybakk said it had paid 200 million
crowns with almost nothing to show in return.

Industry sources said that Norway could choose to withdraw its annual
payments to JSF and still pick U.S. warplanes.

Norway is one of eight countries that agreed to participate in the
$245 billion Joint Strike Fighter, the largest military aircraft
programme in history. Nybakk said Britain and the Netherlands were
also unhappy with the situation.

Norway is planning to buy about 48 new jets to replace its fleet of
F-16s some time after 2015 in a deal that would be worth an estimated
26 billion to 38 billion crowns, its biggest single military order
ever.

An industry source said the dissatisfaction with JSF was also good
news for Eurofighter, raising its chances in Norway. "

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=4973218
John Cook

Any spelling mistakes/grammatic errors are there purely to annoy. All
opinions are mine, not TAFE's however much they beg me for them.

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