Bush, Blair Agree On F-35 Fighter Technology Transfer

[Owais]

Bush, Blair Agree On F-35 Fighter Technology Transfer

Jim Wolf, Reuters
Sat, 27 May 2006, 00:12

The United States has agreed to step up Britain’s access to sensitive technology in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter being built by Lockheed Martin Corp., President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair said on May 26.

The radar-evading F-35 is the costliest warplane acquisition program ever at a projected $276.5 billion through 2027 for the total 2,593 jets that the United States and Britain plan to buy.

"Both governments agree that the UK will have the ability to successfully operate, upgrade, employ, and maintain the Joint Strike Fighter such that the UK retains operational sovereignty over the aircraft," they said in a joint statement.

At issue were such things as radar-evading technologies, know-how involving the aircraft’s electronic brains and future weapons integration -- items Britain has equated with what it calls operational sovereignty.
The first F-35 is to be delivered in 2009 in the United States.

Britain has committed $2 billion to developing the fighter, more than twice the sum put up by the other partners -- Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.

Britain’s minister for defense procurement, Paul Drayson, warned Washington in March that London would quit the co-development program unless Britain’s technology-access needs were met.
"Without the technology transfer to give us the confidence to deliver an aircraft fit to fight on our terms, we will not be able to buy these aircraft," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 14.

Bush and Blair said in the statement they were still working out details of the technology-transfer deal designed to clear the way for Britain to sign a pact on buying its planned F-35 fleet.

"The United States has no closer ally than the United Kingdom," the statement said, referring to their cooperation in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the U.S.-declared global war on terror.

U.S. officials have said they hope to wrap up talks with Britain and the other partners next month on how many F-35s they would buy. This would set the stage for a formal signing ceremony in December after purchase reviews are completed in the partner countries, officials said.
Bush and Blair also spoke in the statement of a need to enhance U.S.-British military cooperation.

They said the two countries must strengthen and deepen the relationship between their defense establishments, achieve fully interoperable forces and leverage the strength of their industries.

 

[EagleEyes]

The radar-evading F-35 is the costliest warplane acquisition program ever at a projected $276.5 billion through 2027 for the total 2,593 jets that the United States and Britain plan to buy.

They seem to be planning to conquer the world. The United States Forces are the forces who spend billions of dollars more than of the defense expenditure spent by the whole world. The economy is the whole game in afford-ability.

 

[Nasir]

US Air Force F-22 Raptors find new nest in Alaska

US Air Force
Sat, 27 May 2006, 00:10

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE: After flying more than 3,200 miles over land, ocean, mountains and glaciers, six F-22 Raptors arrived here May 23 from Langley Air Force Base, Va.

Though it isn’t the first time the Raptors have flown over snow-capped mountains, it is the first time they have flown outside of the continental United States.

“It feels great to be here,” said Lt. Col. Wade Tolliver, 27th Fighter Squadron commander. “This is the longest continuous trip we’ve flown in this bird, so that gives us a great start to this entire visit.”

The 27th FS, the first operational Raptor squadron, brought an additional six jets into town May 24 and 25, making it a dozen F-22s that will nest here for the next six weeks.

The 12 Raptors, 18 pilots, 174 maintainers -- as well as other Raptor support personnel -- will participate in Northern Edge, Alaskan Command’s joint exercise June 5 to 16.

In Northern Edge, more than 5,000 U.S. active duty and reserve-component military members will work in a joint environment to enhance their ability to rapidly respond to a regional contingency.

“We are excited to bring the Raptor into the mix here. It is extremely important to test the interoperability between emerging weapons systems and the current operational tools on the Air Force and joint level,” Colonel Tolliver said.

Part of the interest here in the Raptor stems from the fact that this base will be the next operational location to house F-22s. These next few weeks of cooperation and education will be valuable for both the 3rd Wing and the 1st Fighter Wing.

“We know that we will be working closely together in the near future, so this is an excellent opportunity to get to know some of the people and processes that we will encounter as we bring F-22s to Alaska,” said Col. Randy Roberts, 3rd Operations Group commander.

“Building solid working relationships before the start of this Raptor process will make everything about this transition easier for our Airmen,” he said.
After participating in Northern Edge, the 27th FS will remain here through June. Colonel Tolliver said his squadron’s goal is to get as much training in as possible.

“This will be another opportunity for our deployment team to test several layers of our supply chain and out-of-town operations,” Colonel Tolliver said. “Bringing the F-22 here, away from our support structure at Langley, gives us the ability to prepare for future deployments that will take us even farther across the globe.”

 

[melb4aust]

Why the hell UK needs F-35, as they have already got EF-2000 one of the suphisticated and best fighter jet they've ever produced. Money talks, and they have alot, they dont know where to spend it i guess.