Lockheed Martin officials have laid down the “sign-up-now” or “get-less-later” gauntlet for countries considering buying Joint Strike Fighters. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia is one of the countries that might face increased costs down the line. The Herald reports that Australia wanted to wait until 2008 to make a formal commitment, although it has indicated it would buy up to 100 of the new fighters and has set aside $15 billion. Australian Minister of Defense Brendan Nelson told the Sydney newspaper that Australian officials “would not sign up to an agreement unless we are satisfied we have all the information we need and it was in Australia’s interests.”
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…