First JSF rolls off production line
The first Dutch JSF jet fighter rolled off the production line on Wednesday at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas.
The plan, ordered by the government in 2008 with a price tag of €99.7m, will undergo fuel system tests before being flown to an airforce base in Florida where the Dutch airforce will begin training pilots and maintenance staff, reports the Telegraaf.
A second JSF is on order at a cost of €90m.
The government has not yet decided whether the JSF should replace the aging fleet of F-16s, which will continue flying for a further three years. There is much political pressure to abandon the project.
So far, development of the JSF has cost €800m.
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