NORWAY ON JSF TEAM NATO ALLY TAKES ROLE IN JET PROGRAM.

Byline: Daily News

PALMDALE - Norway signed on for the F-35 joint strike fighter system development and demonstration phase, becoming the fifth country to join the United States on the program, Lockheed Martin said.

Becoming a part of the SDD phase qualifies Norwegian industry to bid for work on the program, and enables Norway to influence the F-35's design and mission.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. is teamed with Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and an international group that anticipates building at least 3,000 F-35s for the United States and allied nations.

``Norway is a valued ally with an astute technical capability that will benefit both the F-35 program and future pilots who fly the aircraft,'' said Tom Burbage, executive vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin JSF program.

The United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands were already partners.

Other countries evaluating participation in the F-35 program include Italy and Turkey.

Since 1980, Norway has purchased 74 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters. The F-16 is among the aircraft the F-35 is designed to replace after 2010.

The single-engine F-35 will be manufactured in three versions: a conventional-takeoff-and-landing variant for the U.S. Air Force, an aircraft-carrier version for the U.S. Navy, and a short-takeoff/vertical landing version for the U.S. Marine Corps.

The F-35 is designed to replace Air Force A-10s and F-16s, U.S. Navy F/A-18s, U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18s, and the United Kingdom's Harrier GR.7s and Sea Harriers.

Lockheed Martin was picked for the JSF development contract last October over competitor Boeing after a flight-test program at Edwards Air Force Base.