Not only are the three JSF variants going to provide the backbone for our military, the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are planning to purchase significant numbers of the planes to replace their aging Harriers and Sea Harriers.

Back in the mid 1970s, the Air Force conducted the Lightweight Fighter Competition. The two contending aircraft were the YF-16 and YF-17. Not only was the winning plane expected to win large orders from the USAF, it was widely expected that many foreign countries would also buy the plane. That's exactly what happened - the Air Force selected the F-16. It was also purchased by many foreign countries in large numbers.

An interesting side note is that the losing YF-17 was picked as the basis of the F-18 by the US Navy and Marine Corps. The F-18 was also purchased by several foreign countries, including Canada.

The JSF is planned to replace the F-16, A-10, AV-8B, F/A-18s (at least through the C/D models) and to an extent the A-6. As a result, it also could well be purchased in large numbers by foreign countries. Over the life of the program, it's possible that several thousand copies could be sold.

I'm interested in how the sensitive stealth technology will be licensed to foreign countries. Since the British are our partners in the JSF program, I'm sure this issue was addressed early in the program.