April 19, 2004 (by Eric L. Palmer) -
There are conflicting reports that the export version of the F-35 JSF would have less low-observable (stealth) qualities than the ones to be delivered to the U.S.
According to the Jane's website article:
JSF security technology costing up to USbn, part of the reason for the budget overrun is wanting to keep certain technology secure.
Quote from the article:
Up to US$1 billion of the projected cost overrun on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is attributable to the development of 'anti-tamper' (AT) technology to protect stealth features on the JSF, together with a 'sanitized' and probably less stealthy export configuration of the fighter. The clear implication is that the 'international' JSF would have a larger RCS than the US version, would be easier to detect by hostile radars and would consequently be more susceptible to attack."
