COPENHAGEN: The Danish government will recommend the purchase of 27 F-35 stealth fighter jets built by U.S. weapons maker Lockheed Martin Corp, three sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Denmark would be the 11th country to buy the radar-evading fighter jets, joining the United States, Britain, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, South Korea and Japan, which have already placed orders.
The Danish prime minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen called a press briefing for Thursday at 0800 GMT on the issue, but the government declined to comment on what he would say.
The recommendation, first reported by Denmark’s TV2 News, will be followed by a public comment period of 30 days, said one source, who was not authorised to speak publicly.
Lockheed said it had not received an official notification from the Danish government, while Boeing was not immediately available for comment. The Pentagon’s F-35 program office had no immediate comment.
Denmark’s decision has been closely watched, as several other nations also have to decide whether to replace their aged warplanes with Lockheed Martin’s brand new F-35 or choose cheaper, older-generation planes such as Super Hornets.
If confirmed, the recommendation would make the F-35 the likely pick, although the decision process has sparked a heated debate in Denmark about how much money should be spent. The F-35 is the most expensive of the three planes being considered.
Denmark is one of eight original partners that helped fund development of the F-35 and flies Lockheed F-16 jets alongside Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands.
If confirmed, the decision marks a victory for Lockheed, which is still chasing orders in Canada and several other countries.
It would also mark a setback for Boeing Co, another U.S. weapons maker that mounted an expensive last-ditch marketing effort for its older F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and the Eurofighter consortium that includes Airbus Group SE.
(Reporting by Copenhagen newsroom and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Reuters
