U.S. Air Force fighter planning is increasingly focused on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), according to Col. Robert E. Stice, chief of the air superiority division in the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition. At the same time, foreign countries are being invited to join the program, whether as full partners or "informed" nations.
The UK has committed $200 million to support the JSF Concept Demonstration Aircraft (CDA) effort. Australia, Canada, Norway and the Netherlands have formally joined the program. Italy, which envisages using the short takeoff, vertical landing (STOVL) JSF variant from the carrier Garibaldi, is close to signing on, and Turkey is expressing interest too.

The USAF is the largest single JSF customer, with a planned requirement for 1,763 aircraft to replace its F-16s. According to Col. Stice, the larger and more expensive F- 22 is now regarded as a "force enabler," designed to penetrate enemy airspace and destroy air and ground targets, and open the way for the JSF, which will be the main precision weapons platform.

As the JSF program has firmed up, F-22 production has been reduced to free money for the new fighter. Also, while the JSF is being promoted for export, the Pentagon has not yet cleared Lockheed Martin to brief foreign military sales (FMS) customers on the F-22 -more than three years after a USAF-led team was formed to study the issue.

The JSF program office is now completing the third revision of the Joint Interim Requirements Document (JIRD III). A number of important issues remain to be resolved, according to observers. The debate over the JSF's gun is still unresolved: USAF pilots want an internal gun, but the weight penalty is unacceptable to the U.S. Marine Corps. Another open issue is the exportability of radar absorbent material (RAM) technology; this can be omitted from export aircraft, but the result is an aircraft with the drawbacks of stealth technology but not the full benefits.

The JSF CDA prototypes-Boeing's X-32 and Lockheed Martin's X-35-are due to fly in early 2000, and the Pentagon expects to select a winner in 2001 for first deliveries in 2008.