Bad news for Navy F-35 version

But good news for the F-35B. Potentially.

From Great Britain:


Defense Secretary Philip Hammond told lawmakers Thursday that Britain would no longer purchase F-35c variants of the Lockheed Martin Corp. fighter jet because the cost of modifications to ships needed to accommodate the plane would be about $3.2 billion.
The jet's design -- which does not include vertical take-off and landing -- means aircraft carriers would need to be fitted with catapults and arrester gears.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/10/uk-reverses-decision-on-us-fighter-jet-deal/#ixzz1uTPFiYG6



This is the version favored by the U.S. Navy, whose carriers already have the things the Royal Navy doesn't.


Note that they're not dropping the F-35 completely, contrary to some news reports. Instead they want to buy what in the U.S. is often called the Marine Corps version, or the "jump jet" F-35.


The decision makes a lot of sense for Great Britain - assuming that the F-35B can be successfully developed, admittedly a controversial point in some quarters.

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