AMERICAN defence firm Lockheed Martin is laying plans for special export version of the $250bn (£139bn, E203bn) joint strike fighter aircraft (JSF), depressing any hope of quick breakthrough on the contentious issue of transatlantic technology transfer.
The UK invested £2bn upfront when the plane programme, the largest project in military history, was launched five years ago; Britain’s BAE Systems is the only “first tier” foreign partner in the nine-nation plane consortium led by Lockheed.
But strict controls on the export of US technology have meant that the foreign partners have not had full access to software codes on the plane, particularly those to maintain and upgrade the aircraft.
UK government ministers have repeatedly argued for free technology sharing between America and Britain because of the long-standing special relationship between the two countries.
Originally the US and export versions of the plane were to be the same. But Lockheed is working on a version to be released to foreign partners involved in the programme’s system development phase.
The design, called the SDD-Delta, should be finalised by December. It will take account of the technical constraints imposed by the US government’s export policy but still have commonality with America’s version of the fighter jet.
Industry sources praised Lockheed’s move as a bold way of tackling the technology transfer issue until it is resolved. That may be many years away, they added. The UK must decide by next year whether to purchase as many as 150 of the aircraft.
The JSF, also known as the F-35, is intended to serve as the workhorse for the US Air Force, Navy and Marines. At the programme’s outset, it was envisaged that thousands of the jets could be produced in three variants.
But the need for so many planes and three different models is being assessed as part of America’s 2005 Quadrennial Defence Review of all weapons systems. The results of the review are due to be reported to Congress by late next month.
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August 31, 2005 at 10:30 am