Do you have a source for that? Thanks.
The Ministry of Defence has said it is confident it will receive software code that controls the Joint Strike Fighter, despite US assertions that they will not deliver the source code to any of the programme's international partners.
An MoD spokesman said: "The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is progressing well and the UK currently has the JSF data needed at this stage of the programme, and is confident that in future we will continue to receive the data needed to ensure that our requirements for operational sovereignty will be met."
"This remains the basis of the agreements reached with the US in 2006."
Jon Schreiber, who heads the JSF programme's international affairs, told Reuters in November that no partner country will be getting the F-35 source code. "That includes everybody," he said.
Although withholding the estimated 8 million lines of onboard software code needed to operate the F-35, the US is setting up a 'reprogramming facility' at Elgin Air Force base in Florida. The facility will be responsible for "electronic warfare mission data creation and rapid reprogramming for US military and foreign military (Coalition) partners."
"New operational flight programmes will be disseminated out to everybody who's flying the jet," said Schreiber.
"Nobody's happy with it completely," he said, but "everybody's satisfied and understands."
In 2006, Lord Drayson had threatened British withdrawal from the JSF programme if the US did not provide the software.
Later that year, Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush announced that Britain would be able to "successfully operate, upgrade, employ and maintain the Joint Strike Fighter such that the UK retains operational sovereignty of the aircraft."
UK 'confident' over JSF software - Defence Management
