It appears that President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair stuck to their May declaration of technical cooperation for the F-35 Lightning II. US and British defense officials signed a formal pact on technology transfer for the F-35 during the Farnborough Air Show last month. They just didn’t make a public showing of it, according to Reuters news service.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.