U S AIR FORCE F-35 Lightning II Challenge and 50 similar items

This is a great looking US AIR FORCE F-35 Lightning bronze challenge coin. Coin has reeded edges and is about 1 1/2" in diameter. All details are raised lettering. Coin is contained in an acrylic air tight holder. Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II procurement is the planned selection and purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), by various countries. The F-35 Lightning II was conceived from the start of the project as having participation from many countries, most of which would both contribute to the manufacture of the aircraft and procure it for their own armed forces. However, the program is now threatened with cancellation over ballooning project scope ("feature creep"), or to share proprietary source code with purchasing partner nations, and failed efforts at cost containment, together with multinational resistance to purchasing an unproven aircraft developed and fast-tracked through a non-competitive, no-bid contract process, and even calls from politicians and defense analysts in the United States and elsewhere for the program's immediate termination. While the United States is the primary customer and financial backer, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Turkey, Austrailia, Norway and Denmark have agreed to contribute US 4.375 billion toward the development costs of the program. Total development costs are estimated at more than US$40 billion (underwritten largely by the United States), while the purchase of an estimated 2,400 planes is expected to cost an additional US$200 billion. Norway has estimated that each of their planned 52 F-35 fighter jets will cost their country $769 million over their operational lifetime. The nine major partner nations, including the U.S., plan to acquire over 3,100 F-35s through 2035, which, if delivered will make the F-35 one of the most numerous jet fighters.