November 21, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Deal awarded for first permanent US F-35 jet facilities in Europe
By WILLIAM HOWARD | STARS AND STRIPES RAF LAKENHEATH, England — The British government has awarded a 160-million pound ($205 million) contract for construction work at RAF Lakenheath to prepare the base for the arrival of U.S. F-35A Lightning II stealth jets. The deal is the first in a much bigger program to support Air Force operations in the U.K., with a further $1 billion expected to be in invested in the U.K. over the next seven to 10 years, according to the British Defence Infrastructure Organisation. It signed the contract with the Kier-VolkerFitzpatrick joint venture on Monday. Work on the base, the first permanent facility for U.S. Air Force F-35s in Europe, will start in summer. The first F-35s are scheduled to arrive in 2021. “For more than one hundred years now our armed forces have fought in defence of our common values and interests. Our two countries have developed the deepest, broadest and most advanced relationship of any two nations,” Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood said in a statement. Full article: https://www.stripes.com/news/deal-awarded-for-first-permanent-us-f-35-jet-facilities-in-europe-1.557392