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 U.S., South Korea, and Japan flew an unusual trilateral flight with two U.S. B-52H Stratofortress bombers escorted by two Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2s, and two ROK Air Force KF-16 fighters—both countries’ respective variants of the F-16—July 11. That same weekend, the top military officers of the three nations…