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http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp?section=news&news_id=reu-n18357102-u2&feed=reu&date=20020318&cat=INDUSTRY Turkey set to join Pentagon fighter program Monday March 18, 6:25 PM EST By Jim Wolf -Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz later told the group, "Our partnership to develop the Joint Strike Fighter will ultimately strengthen our countries' military capabilities and help strengthen the NATO alliance." WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - The United States expects to sign a deal with Turkey in about two months for Turkish participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the world's biggest fighter project, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer said on Monday. "We welcome Turkey's Ministry of Defense decision to seek their government's approval to join the Joint Strike Fighter program as a cooperative partner," said Edward Aldridge, under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Turkey would join Britain, which has committed $2 billion; the Netherlands, $800 million; and Canada, $150 million, to help bankroll full-scale development of the radar-evading, multi-role F-35. Italy, Norway and Denmark are also weighing participation, according to Aldridge. Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), the No. 1 U.S. military contractor, beat rival Boeing Co. (BA) last year in the Pentagon's winner-take-all competition to design and build up to 3,000 of the aircraft, which are meant to be a workhorse of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marines and British Royal Air Force and Navy for 30 to 40 years starting in 2006. Aldridge told the American-Turkish Council, a private group promoting bilateral ties, that he looked forward to signing a memorandum of understanding with the Turkish Defense Ministry in "about two months" after details are completed. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz later told the group, "Our partnership to develop the Joint Strike Fighter will ultimately strengthen our countries' military capabilities and help strengthen the NATO alliance." Turkey was planning to become a "Level 3" partner, meaning its investment would total 1 percent to 2 percent of development and demonstration costs, the same as Canada's, according to a joint statement released at the council's annual conference on U.S.-Turkish ties. The Pentagon projects overseas sales of as many as 3,000 Joint Strike Fighter variants to U.S. allies and friends. Lockheed is developing the aircraft with its principal partners, Northrop Grumman (NOC) Corp. and BAE Systems (BAE). "This is a great decision and we look forward to a very successful program," Aldridge said. The single-engine F-35 is to be manufactured in three versions -- conventional takeoff-and-landing for the U.S. Air Force, an aircraft-carrier version for the U.S. Navy and a short-takeoff-and-landing model for the U.S. Marine Corps. Most international interest is expected to center on the conventional take-off-and-landing version. Under a memorandum of understanding signed on February 7, Canada will provide $150 million over the next 10 years for development of the aircraft. Countries that join the development program have access to F-35 technical data for use on their own current and future projects, personnel in the program office and priority over non-partner states on purchases of the aircraft starting in 2012, after deliveries to the United States and Britain. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - live college hoops coverage http://sports.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
