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SAO PAULO, Brazil - Lockheed Martin has just decided not to enter its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in Brazil's Project FX-2 fighter requirement. According to the company, the decision was based on the requirement for technology transfer.
The North American company does not feel that it will be able to provide the technology necessary to maintain the aircraft in operation at the rate the Brazilian government is seeking. For this reason, Lockheed Martin has decided to instead present its F-16BR model. Another reason for the F-16 over the F-35 is that the United States government will not authorize the technology transfer for the F-35 model. The compromise led to the selection of the F-16.
It is speculated that perhaps Boeing, who recently presented their F/A-18 Super Hornet will encounter similar road blocks, especially in regards to the onboard electronics system which will be provided by another North American company, Raytheon. Technologies such as these are normally protected by the government.
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