ANKARA (AA) - A bill on approval of the ''Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation Framework for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) System Development and Demonstration and Complementary Agreement, Financial Management Methods Document and Additional Letters'' was submitted to the Turkish Parliament Speaker's Office today (Wednesday).
The agreement which was signed between Turkey and the United States on July 11th, 2002, envisages participation of Turkey in JSF project system development and demonstration phase and grants Turkey proportional share of levies on sales to third countries.
Under the agreement, Turkey became the seventh international partner to sign up for the F-35 JSF program with a pledge to contribute 175 million U.S. dollars to the program over the next decade.
In June 2002, Italy joined the program with a 1.028 billion U.S. dollars of investment, Norway joined with a pledge of 125 million U.S. dollars, and the Netherlands pledged 800 million U.S. dollars. Britain, which is contributing 2.056 billion U.S. dollars, was the first non-U.S. participant in the JSF program, followed by Canada, which is pledging 150 million U.S. dollars and Denmark/Norway, which are committing 250 million U.S. dollars and Australia which is pledging 150 million U.S. dollars.
The countries participating in the F-35's decade-long system development and demonstration phase will have the opportunity to develop and supply parts and systems, influence the aircraft's design and place representatives in the U.S. government's JSF Program Office.
The next-generation F-35 is a radar-evading, supersonic multirole fighter designed to meet the U.S. government's requirements for a new generation of transformational weapons.
The single-engine JSF will be manufactured in three versions: a conventional-takeoff-and-landing variant for the U.S. Air Force, an aircraft-carrier version for the U.S. Navy, and a short-takeoff/vertical landing version for the U.S. Marine Corps.
(MS)
2005-01-26