Updated

The Danish government says it wants to buy 27 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter planes in a deal that would be worth at least 20 billion kroner ($3.1 billion).

Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said Thursday the government picked the F-35 by Lockheed Martin over the Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing's F-18 to replace Denmark's aging fleet of F-16 fighters.

The purchase — which would be the government's largest ever — needs to be approved by the 179-seat parliament.

NATO member Denmark would be the 11th country to buy the F-35 jets, which are equipped with radar-evading technology.

The United States plans to spend close to $400 billion to buy nearly 2,500 F-35s for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.