| Netherlands Cabinet Approves Participation in
the Joint Strike Fighter The Dutch Cabinet
in The Hague (The Netherlands) decided to recommend to Parliament to participate in SDD as
a Level 2 partner. The Netherlands must invest $ 800 million [€ 857 million] in the
program. Both government (60%) and industry (40%) will fund this amount. The Netherlands
has been part of the program since 1997.
The last two years The Netherlands conducted a rigorous technical and financial analysis
of potential candidates to replace its Lockheed Martins F-16s. In both assessments, the
JSF was ranked first.
After the Cabinet meeting Deputy Defense Minister Henk van Hoof declared that he was very
pleased with the decision. "This is an important step for our national defense, our
Air Force and the Dutch industry. With JSF we hope to enhance our interoperability with
NATO and other allied forces, and it will provide great opportunities for our industry.
Our participation will reinforce the longstanding and close relationship between the US
and Dutch Air Force."
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