LMT Lockheed Martin Corp

By Robert Wall

LONDON--The Danish defense ministry Thursday recommended the purchase of 27 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter combat planes to modernize the country's air force.

The stealthy F-35 jet fighters would replace the Danish air force's aging F-16 jets, which recently have been used in the Middle East as part of the coalition striking Islamic State targets.

The U.S. government has been eager to add international buyers to the F-35 program to help reduce unit costs and offset lower-than-planned purchase by the Pentagon. The U.S. and overseas buyers are combining to buy about 3,000 of the planes.

Denmark would become the second Nordic country to buy the jet after Norway. Finland also has kicked off a program to buy a new fighter, where the F-35 is expected to compete.

Denmark's selection is a setback for losing bidders Boeing Co., the world's largest commercial plane maker, which offered its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet combat plane also flown by the U.S. Navy and Australia, and Airbus Group SE, which led the effort to sell Denmark the Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet.

Denmark first joined the F-35 program in 2002 and made a $125 million investment to be involved in the plane's development phase. Until today, the country hadn't committed to buying any of the planes that cost about $100 million each to buy and far more to operate and maintain over the decades they are expected to be in service.

Write to Robert Wall at Robert.Wall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2016 05:09 ET (09:09 GMT)

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