US Department of Defense and Netherlands Sign Next Stage JSF Agreement

Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and the Netherlands Deputy Secretary for Defence Cees van der Knaap signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to begin future cooperation in the production, sustainment, and follow-on development (PSFD) phase of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program. The Dutch, who are already contributing $800 million to the JSF Program’s development phase, plan to buy 85 conventional take-off and landing variants of the Joint Strike Fighter during the production phase.

“This is a major milestone in the long-standing friendship and partnership between the Netherlands and the United States, and I thank the Dutch military and government for the strong leadership and close friendship,” said Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England. “Our shared investment in the Joint Strike Fighter will pay important dividends for the security and freedom of both our Nations for many years in the future.”

The PSFD MOU provides a framework for future JSF Program efforts in production and beyond, and will extend cooperation beyond the current JSF System Development and Demonstration MOU among the United States and the other eight JSF partner nations, the United Kingdom, Italy, The Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Australia. The Netherlands joined the SDD MOU in June 2002, and has been part of the JSF program since 1997.

Read more