Norway may provide financial support for the development of the Swedish fighter jet Gripen.
If this is the case, Norway will then also fund each of the three competitors vying to deliver the defense replacement for the aging F-16s due to be phased out.
"We want three equally placed candidates in the process to 2008," Ministry of Defense state secretary Espen Barth Eide told newspaper Dagbladet.
The American Joint Strike Fighter, the Swedish JAS Gripen and the European cooperative project Eurofighter are all jostling to secure Norway's largest ever jet contract. Norway has already given over NOK 400 million (USD 64.4 million) to the development of the JSF.
Barth Eide emphasized that a final decision has not been made but said that even if Norway were to continue with the JSF that "compensatory measures" would be taken for the other projects.
