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Europe and U.S. Lock Horns over Fighters
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
By Paul Majendie
Reuters

Lockheed-Martin Joint Strike Fighter.
(High-res image)
Image Credit: Lockheed Martin flight test cameraman Tom Reynolds.

"There is little doubt that operations in the Balkans and Afghanistan have convinced customers that the F-35 will allow them to integrate seamlessly into U.S.-led expeditionary force structures -- the apparent pattern of future wars."
-- Nick Cook/Aerospace Consultant

Typhoon EF-2000 Eurofighter.
Image Credit: http://jets.averi.hr/.

FARNBOROUGH, England -- Reuters
The United States and Europe locked horns on Tuesday in a 21st century battle to sell their competing fighters to the air forces of the world.

In a dogfight to see who will defend the skies, the Eurofighter was pitched against the Joint Strike Fighter at the Farnborough air show, the biggest aviation showcase of the year.

The stakes are high for plane manufacturers. The September 11 attacks sent civil aviation into a financial tailspin and for the beleaguered industry, defense is now the one bright spot in turbulent skies as governments boost spending.

On Tuesday, Britain's Royal Air Force officially adopts the name Typhoon for its Eurofighters at a ceremony to be attended by Defense Minister Geoff Hoon and the plane is put through its paces over the Farnborough airfield south of London.

Meanwhile Lockheed Martin Corp is singing the praises of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the biggest warplane project in history and the Pentagon's largest ever purchase. It plans to build and sell up to 5,000 of the supersonic fighters.

The Pentagon's chief weapons buyer Edward Aldridge argues it is "no contest" between the transatlantic rivals.
(More: The Tallahassee Democrat News Source)
2002 © Reuters, Ltd.

Dan