Parliament Pulls F-35 From Testing Phase

The Dutch lower house last week voted to cancel the order for the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and end the Netherlands' participation in the program's initial operational test and evaluation phase, reports defense-aerospace.com.

Lawmakers also directed the Defense Ministry to issue a new request for proposal and conduct a complete evaluation of the F-16 replacement program, for which a final decision is expected in 2012.

If the move is implemented, the Netherlands would...