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Danish government OKs $3 billion purchase of 27 F-35 fighter jets
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/article82722107.html
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/article82722107.html
Denmark’s parliament agreed to a deal with Lockheed Martin to spend $3 billion, or 20 billion kroner, to buy 27 F-35 Joint Striker Fighter jetson replacing its aging fleet of fighter planes.
The total cost for the lifespan of the deal, assuming some planes last as long as 30 years, would be 55 billion kroner, said Henrik Dam Christensen, defense speaker for the opposition Social Democrats. The F-35s will replace old Lockheed Martin F-16s, which Denmark has used since the early 1980s.
Denmark is revamping its fleet at a time when the “world security map has changed,” Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said last month, when his minority government proposed going with Lockheed Martin over Boeing’s F-18.
In a statement, Lockheed said it’s honored by Denmark’s decision to go with the F-35. “We stand ready to accommodate Denmark’s decision and will continue to work with the U.S. government and the F-35 Joint Program Office to support the procurement of the F-35,” the company said.
Denmark, a member of NATO, would be the 11th country to buy the F-35, which is equipped with radar-evading technology. The nation is been a development partner in the F-35 program along with the United States and seven other countries: Australia, Canada, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey. Israel, Japan and South Korea are also foreign military customers.