Netherlands and US defense officials formally signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday to engage the Dutch in the production and development stages of the Joint Strike Fighter program. Netherlands, which has been part of the JSF program since 1997, plans to purchase 85 conventional take-off and landing variants of the F-35. Another JSF participant, Turkey, signaled its intent to sign an MOU, committing itself to buy about 100 JSFs.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.