Norway to Back out of F-35 JSF Over Industrial Share?

DID reader Endre Lunde drew our attention to an article that was published March 1, 2006 on the official web-site of the Norwegian military. The article is in Norwegian, but Mr. Lunde helps by explaining:

"It is reporting from a recent visit by representatives of the Norwegian MoD and key figures of the RNoAF to the Lockheed Martin JSF research plant. In this article, as it reads, the secretary of state of the ministry of defense (equals deputy minister) states that if there are no signs of improved industrial relations between Lockheed Martin and the Norwegian defense industry by the time the next partnership-payment is due, Norway will resign its JSF partnership. This payment, due in June, amounts to roughly 18 million US dollars. It is said, however, that a notice of intention to withdraw must be posted by April. This means, that if there are no new contracts or general improvement of relations within two months, Norway might just be withdrawing from the JSF development project."

Norway is a Tier 3 JSF consortium member who joined on June 20, 2002 with a $125 million contribution. Gripen International director of sales Bob Kemp seems to think withdrawal is a real possibility, and Mr. Lunde adds:

"This improvement, or new contracts, must be considerable, as contracts have been lagging behind for quite some time. About one year ago, representatives from Lockheed Martin visited the Norwegian parliamentary defense committee, and promised improvement and more contracts. After this meeting, the leader of the committee at the time announced that the JAS-39 Gripen was back on the table. This was scorned by most as an attempt to play hardball with Lockheed Martin. Whatever it was, it did not work, and now discontent from politicians is obviously blooming again."

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