Norway signs F-35 warplane pact with U.S., allies

Norway joined on Wednesday a U.S.-led group of countries agreeing to take part in the next phase of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 Joint Strike fighter, the costliest warplane acquisition to date.

In a ceremony in Oslo, Defense Minister Anne-Grete Strom-Erichsen added her signature to a pact already signed by the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Britain and Turkey, the U.S. Defense Department said.

The United States alone expects to spend $276.5 billion to buy more than 2,000 F-35 aircraft.

The remaining co-development partners, Italy and Denmark, are expected to sign the production, sustainment and follow-on development pact in the near future, the Pentagon said.

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