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AVIATION WEEK's Ares Blog Spurs Questions in Dutch Parliament

NEW YORK, May 5 PRNewswire — A post on AVIATION WEEK's Ares defense technology blog about Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program cost changes is causing debate in the Dutch parliament. Labor party Member of Parliament and defense spokesperson Angelien Eijsink has quoted Bill Sweetman, editor-in-chief of Defense Technology International (DTI), to fuel questions around the Netherlands' plans to purchase JSFs.

Following Lockheed Martin's April 8 announcement that estimated JSF acquisition costs had dropped by $981 million, Sweetman assessed that the fighter program had "dodged the incoming Nunn-McCurdy missile that everyone had predicted ..., (but) savings are mostly in the medium-to-far future while the increases are here and now." To confirm calculations reported by Sweetman and better understand the impact these changes will have on Dutch participants, Eijsink submitted a series of questions to the Dutch ministers of defense, economic affairs and finance and the state secretary of defense, requesting nationally relevant and specific estimates for the JSF program's immediate cost increases and potential long-term savings. For more information, read Sweetman's May 1 post on Ares at http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plc kScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId =Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a413ac5fe-26c6-49ae-8934- 1bcebafbe12d. (Due to the length of URL, please copy and paste link into your browser and delete spaces if they exist).

While this is the second time in less than two months that the Dutch parliament has shown interest in AVIATION WEEK's blogs, they are not the only ones tuning in. AVIATION WEEK's defense channels have shown a 339% increase in average monthly page views in 2007 vs. the prior year, with the greatest traffic increase and views on its defense technology blog, Ares (http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense), but also driven by the DTI Ezine and defense video gallery.

About AVIATION WEEK

AVIATION WEEK, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, is the largest multimedia information and services provider to the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries, and includes the publications Aviation Week & Space Technology, Defense Technology International, Business & Commercial Aviation, Overhaul & Maintenance, ShowNews, Aviation Daily, The Weekly of Business Aviation, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report and the World Aerospace Database. The group's website, http://www.aviationweek.com, offers the industry's most reliable news, information, search and online community tools. Premium content services include the Aviation Week Intelligence Network, an integrated business tool for managers, business developers, buyers and technical professionals, and MRO Prospector, a unique web-based suite of data and tools for business development and benchmarking in maintenance, repair and overhaul. The group also produces prominent conferences, exhibitions and management forums around the world.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands including Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2007 were $6.8 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com .

SOURCE AVIATION WEEK

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