Tail Blazer

摘要

It's worth an estimated ￡140bn―maybe double that―and everyone wants a piece of it. Joint Strike Fighter, better known as JSF, is the biggest defence deal in history. But though it was an American idea, it isn't your average all-American plane. Since the Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems team's X-35 demonstrator beat Boeing's X-32 version in a winner-takes-all competition last October, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands have signed up for a share in the Systems Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase. Many more nations are set to follow in the biggest international project ever seen. 'Nobody comes on board unless they're the best athlete,' stresses Lockheed Martin's UK JSF Business Development Manager, Ivor Evans.