UPDATE 2-F-35 fighter jet to make international debut in July -officials

Aerospace analyst, Richard Aboulafia with the Virginia-based Teal Group said the F-35′s first overseas appearance marked the start of a more aggressive drive to lock in foreign orders at a time when the U.S. military has repeatedly delayed its own. “What they really need to do is transform the program’s economics by getting above that 30-something (annual production) plateau they’re on,” he said. “They need to get to a virtuous cycle where numbers go up and costs go down … the opposite of a death spiral.”