Paris Air Show: F-35 fighter show is gesture to NATO allies, US says – USA TODAY

1

Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about

When the stealthy hi-tech F-35 fighter jet tears through Paris skies on its first ever acrobatic displays this week, the jet will also be sending a message: NATO allies, the United States is still on your side.

Try Another

Audio CAPTCHA

Image CAPTCHA

Help

CancelSend

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

USA TODAY Published 1:32 p.m. ET June 19, 2017 | Updated 4 hours ago

A Lockheed Martin F-35 jetfighter performs during a demonstration in Le Bourget on June 16, 2017, prior to the formal June 19 opening of the Paris Air Show.(Photo: ERIC PIERMONT, AFP/Getty Images)

LE BOURGET, France (AP) When the stealthy hi-tech F-35 fighter jet tears through Paris skies on its first ever acrobatic displays this week, the jet will also be sending a message: NATO allies, the United States is still on your side.

In an Associated Press interview at the opening Monday of the Paris Air Show, a senior F-35 Air Force administrator, Brigadier General Select Todd Canterbury, said the daily displays of the new jet are to showcase its abilities and "reassure (allies) that we are committed to NATO 100 percent and that we have got the capability to respond to any action necessary."

PARIS AIR SHOW ROUND-UP:See all the stories from the show

U.S. President Donald Trump has called NATO obsolete and excoriated European allies last month for not spending enough on their own defenses.

Canterbury, director of the Air Force F-35 Integration Office at the Pentagon, also spoke about recent problems that grounded F-35s at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Since May 2, F-35 pilots on five occasions reported symptoms of oxygen deprivation, he said.

Engineers, test pilots, medics and others experts are "digging into this problem 24 hours a day," to try to identify the cause, Canterbury said.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2sI2Fo1

See original here:
Paris Air Show: F-35 fighter show is gesture to NATO allies, US says - USA TODAY