F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Lightning II
International Partners
JSF evolved to an international co-development program. The United Kingdom, Italy, The Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Australia and Turkey have formally joined the U.S. and contributed money toward the program. These partners are either NATO countries and/or close US allies, and peacekeeping and war fighting more recently have been done by coalitions. The reason to have all of these countries in co-development with the US is that there is currently a big difference in the type of equipment that they fly. Although some countries fly equipment similar to the US’s, others fly equipment that is less capable. With JSF, they can all fly the same airplane; as a coalition, they can all be the same. With this in mind, the U.S. invited these eight countries to participate in developing the airplanes. That is to say, they are not just participants to buy the airplanes. They will participate in the design, build, and test of the airplanes. This is a marked difference from past programs.
And of course, there is expectation in industry of the economic benefits associated with being a part of a big program. With such economic opportunities at hand for the various aerospace companies, it was in most cases the ministry of trade — not the ministry of defense — that cast the deciding votes to join the team.
The JSF Security Cooperation Participation (SCP) concept developed requiring ~$50M investment per country. The goal is to provide an opportunity for friends/allies to participate in JSF with goal and to be “well informed” customers in the process. The SCP consists of JSF vision/framework formalized in a National Armaments Director NAD-to-NAD Letter of Intent (LOI). It also consists of JSF “business details” formalized in a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA). SCP dialogue was conducted goverment-to-government; Singapore and Israel are participating under the SCP designation.
Eight countries have agreed to invest a total of $4.375 billion over 10 years in the $25 billion Joint Strike Fighter program. Britain pledged $2 billion, and is the only "Level I" partner in the program. Italy has pledged $1 billion as a Level II partner, and the Netherlands has also pledged to invest $800 million, also becoming a "Level II" partner. The "Level III" partners include Canada [which pledged $150 million], Denmark [$125 million], Norway [pledged to invest $125 million], and Turkey [pledging $175 million]. Australia has also expressed interest in the program.
Australia In late June 2002 the Australian Government decided buy Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. Australia intends to buy up to 100 aircraft, at a cost of more than US$ 4.5 billion [$8 billion Australian], to replace Australia's aging F/A-18s and F-111s. In October 2002 Australia committed to provide $150 million for development of the F-35. Eight nations have pledged about $4.5 billion to join the United States in the $25 billion development phase of the program.
Denmark On May 28, 2002, Memorandum of Understanding documents were signed by the Danish National Armaments Director and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, committing Denmark to participation in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) system development and demonstration phase. The commitment spans a period of 10 years.
Italy On June 24, 2002, the Italian Secretary General of Defense and National Armaments Director and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics signed and exchanged memorandum of understanding (MOU) documents for Italian partnership in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase. Under the previous Concept Demonstration Phase (CDP) MOU from 1998 to 2001, both the United States and Italy had benefited from JSF ship suitability efforts and associated environmental studies. The Italian government was, as a result, to invest $1.028 billion [€ 1.09 Billion] in the SDD phase. As the senior Level II partner, Italian Air Force and Navy personnel is to occupy five positions within the JSF Program Office. These individuals are to be working together with the United States and its international partners, as well as the JSF air system and engine contractors, to develop an affordable system ready for transition to production.
Netherlands On June 17, 2002, the Netherlands also committed itself to the JSF's system development and demonstration (SDD) phase by exchanging with the Department of Defense memorandum of understanding (MOU) documents. These MOU documents were signed on June 5, 2002, on behalf of the Dutch Cabinet at Soesterberg Airbase (NL) with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics countersigning the MOU documents in Washington, D.C. on June 10, 2002. As a result, the Netherlands will invest $800 million [€ 848 million] in the SDD effort. The Netherlands has been part of the JSF program since 1997. The Netherlands became the fourth country to join as a JSF SDD phase partner, and the first 'Level 2' partner. The Dutch commitment spans ten years. For the previous two and a half years, the Netherlands had conducted a rigorous technical and financial analysis of potential candidates to replace its F-16s. In both assessments, the JSF ranked first.
Norway On June 20, 2002, the Norwegian National Armaments Director and the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology signed memorandum of understanding documents committing Norway to participation in the Joint Strike Fighter system development and demonstration (SDD) phase for a period of ten years.
Turkey On July 11, 2002, the Under Secretary for Defense Industries of the Turkish Ministry of Defense signed a $175 million memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Turkish partnership in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) systems development and demonstration (SDD) phase. Turkey had taken part in the JSF's concept demonstration phase (CDP) to begin its association through foreign military sales for $6.2 million. As a CDP partner Turkey gained significant insight into the program concepts and requirements definition and participated in various capabilities modeling and simulation events. Included in these efforts was a life cycle cost control study, an important area of consideration for the Turkish Air Force that examined the changes to Air Force logistics that should be accomplished to support their JSF aircraft. As a Level III partner, Turkey will participate over the the 10 years of the systems development and demonstration phase.
