COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The Danish government on Thursday reached agreement with coalition parties to proceed with the purchase of 27 F-35A stealth fighters from U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp (N:LMT), the defence ministry said.
Following a recommendation from an expert group appointed by the government, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, leading a minority government, announced on May 12 his support for the acquisition of 27 fighter jets to the value of 20 billion Danish Crowns ($3.05 billion).
The agreement is a blow to rival Boeing Co (N:BA) which mounted an expensive last-ditch marketing effort for its older F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Denmark would be the 11th country to buy the radar-evading F-35A jets, joining the United States, Britain, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, South Korea and Japan.
"The fighter jets are central to our participation in international missions in the Balkans, in Afghanistan, in Libya and recently in Iraq in the fight against ISIL (Islamic State)," Rasmussen told a news conference in May.