Dave Doogan, Shadow SNP Spokesperson for Defence, sought clarity from the Ministry of Defence concerning the steps taken following the findings of the Service Inquiry into the F-35B Lightning ZM152 (BK-18) crash of 617 Squadron on 17 November 2021.

In response to Doogan’s query, “To ask the Secretary of State for Defence… what steps he is taking to mitigate the contributing factors identified in the report,” James Cartlidge, The Minister of State for the Ministry of Defence, confirmed that proactive measures have been initiated in light of the report’s findings, published on 10 August 2023.

Cartlidge elucidated, “The Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy recognise the factors identified in the report and its recommendations, with work already undertaken to address them. Significant improvements have been made to the Air Safety Management System and overriding Joint embarked safety culture; recent exercises aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth have provided first-hand evidence of the positive progress made.”

For context, the F-35B Lightning, stationed on HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, crashed around 11:00 hrs local time on 17th November 2021 into the Mediterranean. The pilot was fortunately able to eject safely, returning to HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The Service Inquiry highlighted a primary causal factor of the crash, as well as several contributing factors, which included issues ranging from the absence of security discussions in essential engineering planning meetings to fatigue among the workforce.

HMS Queen Elizabeth was in the midst of its return to the UK following a seven-month maiden voyage to the Far East when the incident occurred.

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George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison

10 COMMENTS

    • Er, maybe you need to read the report before claiming “human error”.
      This was a systemic management failure at every level.
      We cannot throw another £100m aircraft at these monkeys.
      .
      The root cause of this failure needs to be addressed.
      Systems need to be corrected.
      Management failings need to be addressed

  1. With a woke and unprofessional report like that he better wait seated.
    Not even comparison with what procedures Marines and Italian do was in it.

  2. I read the official report, but found it whilst very detailed very long. This months Flight international condensed it down to one page. Will delete in 1 day:
    https://i.postimg.cc/RFF5THMq/img364.jpg

    If SNP Dave Doogan has problems understanding the official report, then i’m pretty sure the above will answer all his questions

    • Yes,read pretty much the same report last month.SO, what part/parts is incomprehensible to this aledged politition ??? And who’s paying his wages??🙃 (good info Faruok⭐👍👍)

  3. On a separate note and still counting.

    Lockheed Martin delays F-35 deliveries further because of TR-3 issues
    07 SEPTEMBER 2023

    “We have updated our F-35 TR-3 schedule projections with a first TR-3 aircraft delivery between April and June 2024.”

    LINK

    • “In an eyebrow-raising move, the U.S. government is planning to buy far fewer F-35s this year than anticipated. The Pentagon will purchase just 61 F-35s in 2023, a 35% decrease from its previous plan to buy 94 of the fighters.

      One reason for the procurement drop is that the government is waiting on the release of Block 4, a major hardware and software upgrade meant to enhance the stealth fighter’s capabilities.

      This is the first significant purchase drop in years. The cuts range from 25 percent to 50 percent across various branches of the U.S. military: the Air Force will request 35 F-35As instead of 48, the Navy will halve its order from 26 to 13, and the Marines will cut from 20 jets to 15.”

      More cuts Awesome 👌

      16 Mar 2023

      “WASHINGTON — The Pentagon expects that an engine upgrade offered by Pratt & Whitney for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be ready to field in fiscal 2030 and officials hope that all customers — foreign and domestic — who fly the jet will pitch in to fund its development, according to a spokesperson for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

      Meteor/Spear 3 FOC 2035 perhaps?

      More costs and delays Awesome 👌

      “Good job Romania is ordering 36 F35’s 😉”

      “This year, the Supreme National Defense Council approved in principle the program to endow the Romanian Air Force with F-35 aircraft.”

      After the Parliament approval, such as the law requires, the procedures specific to the purchase G-to-G [government to government] type will be started,” a spokesperson for the Romanian MND told Breaking Defense in a statement.

      “Therefore, it is expected that the signing of the acquisition contract type Letter of Acceptance (LoA) to take place in 2024, and the first aircraft will be delivered to the Romanian Air Force starting in 2030.

       More Bull 💩 Awesome 👌

  4. The issue that the blank could get down that far even by accident, should mean that they should now have a long secure strap secured, with a £50 note attached on the end, as Magoo would see it then

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