The Netherlands today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join in the development of the Joint Strike Fighter. The signing makes the Netherlands the fourth international contributor to the stealth aircraft's development. The United Kingdom, Canada, and Denmark joined the program previously.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., a business area of Lockheed Martin Corp. , plans to produce the JSF for the armed forces of those nations, as well as for the United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Countries participating in the decade-long System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the JSF program will have the opportunity to influence the aircraft's design and capabilities, and supply parts and systems.

"We are proud to have the Netherlands on the JSF team," said Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and general manager of the JSF program. "Dutch industry is highly competitive, extremely capable, and is already proving its value to JSF. We look forward to further Dutch industrial participation as the program progresses."

Over the life of the program's SDD phase, the Netherlands will contribute approximately $800 million to the JSF's development. Several Dutch companies already are under contract to produce JSF subsystems, and the role of Netherlands industry is expected to grow significantly during SDD.

Other nations considering participation in the JSF program include Italy, Norway, and Turkey.

The JSF is a stealthy, supersonic, multirole fighter designed to replace a wide range of aging fighter and strike aircraft. Three variants derived from a common design will ensure JSF meets the needs of each specific service while staying within strict affordability targets.

Lockheed Martin is developing the JSF in conjunction with its principal partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE SYSTEMS. Two separate but interchangeable propulsion systems are under development by Pratt & Whitney and General Electric. Among the aircraft JSF will replace are the A-10, AV-8B Harrier, F-16, F/A-18, and United Kingdom Harrier GR.7 and Sea Harrier.

JSF X-35 demonstrator aircraft completed a highly successful flight-test program in August 2001, and the U.S. government awarded the JSF development contract to Lockheed Martin the following October.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leader in the design, development, systems integration, production, and support of advanced military aircraft and related technologies. Its customers include the military services of the United States and allied countries throughout the world. Products include the F-16, F-22, JSF, F-117, C-5, C-27J, C-130, P-3, and U-2.

Lockheed Martin Corp., headquartered in Bethesda, Md., is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, and integration of advanced technology systems, products, and services. Employing about 125,000 people worldwide, Lockheed Martin had 2001 sales of $24 billion.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company