The Dutch parliament voted to terminate participation in the F-35 strike fighter program in a non-binding resolution strongly condemned by Dutch defense minister Hans Hillen. “If we were to stop investing in fighter aircraft . . . it would simply mean that we would be neglecting our duties,” said Hillen in a statement three days ahead of parliament’s July 5 vote. One of the original industrial partners on the project, the Netherlands “reserved 4.5 billion euro for the purchase” of as many as 80 F-35s, noted Hillen. Labor party ministers plan to propose a formal bill to cancel Dutch F-35 participation ahead of an election in September to replace the current government, but F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin says it was confident that the Dutch would stick with the program, reported Bloomberg on July 10. Dutch industry has a roughly 9 billion euro industrial share in the F-35 program, according to Hillen. Lockheed Martin rolled out the first F-35A for the Netherlands this April.
The Pentagon abruptly relieved Air Force Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, and his NSA civilian deputy, Wendy Noble, on April 3.