JSF partner nations the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway are long-standing members of the P-16 European Participating Air Forces (EPAF) group, but they will soon be making decisions about ordering the next-generation fighter. The Dutch, Danish and Norwegian air forces have been strongly influenced by U.S. Air Force training and doctrine, and all three services have expressed a preference to acquire F-35As. The national aerospace industries of the three countries have also benefited significantly from F-16-related offset work secured over the past three decades. A desire to continue the partnership into the next fighter generation was at least partly behind the moves by these three countries to join the JSF program in the second half of the 1990s, which led to the Dutch signing as a Level 2 system development and demonstration (SDD) partner and the Danes and Norwegians as Level 3 partners in 2002. All three are signatories to the JSF production, sustainment and follow-on development memorandum of understanding of 2006-07. as well.
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