A propos du JSF, la Norvège fait durer l’étrange plaisir

La Norvège devait se prononcer après-demain sur la poursuite de sa participation au programme JSF. Elle renvoie au 1er juin sa décision, selon les confidences du secrétaire d’État à la défense Espen Barth Eide faites à Aviation Week (numéro du 27 mars). D’une façon générale, le climat est plutôt morose et la décision norvégienne apparaît plus comme une amabilité diplomatique pour éviter une rupture trop brutale qu’une marche vers la réconciliation.

« Norway is providing Lockheed Martin with an eight-week stay of execution before it decides whether to abandon participation in the Joint Strike Fighter program.

» Originally due to deliver its verdict Apr. 1, State Secretary for Defense Espen Barth Eide told Aviation Week & Space Technology that the decision is being put back to June 1 to allow time for Lockheed Martin to flesh out any proposals, and for Norway to evaluate them. Eide leaves no doubt about the key issue: “Without an industrial package, there is no participation.” Norwegian aspirations for a role in the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the JSF program have failed to be met, precipitating the crisis.

(...)

» While Eide will not prejudge the outcome of what Lockheed Martin may offer to try to address Norwegian needs, there are those in Oslo and Washington who are skeptical the U.S. company is in a position to actually provide what the Norwegian Labor government needs to stay in the program. “I think it's nearly impossible that Lockheed will be able to come up with an acceptable package,” says one U.S. industry source. Recent discussions between Lockheed Martin officials and Eide, says the Washington source, were comparatively positive; but discussions between the U.S. company and Norwegian industry were far less so. »

Mis en ligne le 29 mars 2006 à 07H12