via Reuters...below are the highlights (which I've highlighted!)...
Read it and weep critics! Its over. This program is beyond paring back and its beyond attempts at cancellation. Its truly international in scope and with Turkey buying extra fighters and Israel finally getting off the fence, this program can easily absorb any reduction in buys from wavering partner nations and still deliver on the promise of affordability.The United States and Israel are days away from reaching an agreement on the sale of 19 Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-35 fighter jets, which would be the first foreign military sale of the new warplane."The ball is in their court," Vice Admiral Jeffrey Wieringa, who heads the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, told Reuters at the Farnborough Airshow.
"I am waiting for them to make a decision any day," said Wieringa, who is retiring at the end of the month.
Lockheed declined comment on the status of the arms deal, since it will be concluded between the U.S. and Israeli governments, but said the fact that Israel wants to buy the new F-35 fighter underscored global confidence in the jet.
Analysts say the deal is worth about $3 billion.
"When they select F-35, we believe it's a testimony to the capabilities of the jet," Steve O'Bryan, Lockheed's vice president for F-35 business development, told Reuters, noting that Israel faces some formidable security challenges.
Lockheed said it is close to reaching an agreement with the U.S. government on procurement of a fourth batch of 32 F-35 fighters, and a deal could come "any day."
Company officials, speaking in interviews and at a news conference, underscored their commitment to working with the Pentagon to continue driving down the cost of the F-35 program -- at over $300 billion the biggest weapons program in history.
O'Bryan said the contract for the fourth batch of airplanes would be 20 percent lower than that of the previous batch of fighters, and half the price of the first batch.
You've lost F-35 haters.