The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that the UK will continue providing equipment support for the global fleet of F-35 Lightning jets until at least 2069, when the aircraft is set to retire from UK service.
Responding to a parliamentary question from Navendu Mishra MP (Labour – Stockport) regarding the impact of Typhoon Tranche 1 retirement on the UK aerospace sector, Minister of State Maria Eagle highlighted the UK’s long-term role in F-35 production and maintenance.
“Through Lockheed Martin and the Joint Program Office, approximately 15% by value of the total global F-35 Lightning production is manufactured by UK companies,” Eagle stated.
“This manufacturing and equipment support includes over 100 UK-based suppliers and has created over 20,000 jobs in the UK.”
The minister confirmed that UK support for the F-35 programme will continue beyond the retirement of the aircraft from UK service in 2069, and potentially longer for other nations operating the jet.
“The equipment support provided by the UK for the global fleet of F-35 will likely endure until the F-35 retires from service, which is 2069 for the UK fleet and longer for some other nations,” she said.
The UK plays a key role in F-35 production, with BAE Systems manufacturing key components for the aircraft. 1,800 employees at BAE Systems’ Samlesbury plant are engaged in F-35 sub-system production, contributing to ongoing UK employment in the defence sector.
Eagle reaffirmed that the government remains committed to sustaining jobs and expertise within the UK aerospace sector, ensuring that British industry continues to benefit from the multi-decade F-35 programme.
I’ll wager a 1000 £’s, this is BS.
It’s actually not far-fetched at all. Look at current aircraft. The F/A-18 Super Hornet entered service in 1999, and is projected to stay in service with the USN till the 2040s.
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The US has a long history of keeping aircraft flying way longer than we do.
What BS is that ? Cannot see anything other than confirming a plan that has been inplace for a long time.
Ask me again in 44 years.
Do you think nothing should ever be confirmed? Especially plans from previous governments which could well be changed ?
Absolutely right.
F-35 enters a very different environment to the likes of F-16 and F-15. We’re in denial if we think that China won’t make F-35 irrelevant long before then.
There’s no technical reason why the aircraft can’t remain in service through the 2060s, but it depends entirely on whether it can still perform a useful role in the context of 2060s technology. Older platforms such as B52s remain useful because they can serve as platforms for standoff weapons that didn’t exist when the aircraft were originally conceived.
So the whole bullshit spouted for year about carriers being re roled to CATOBAR as they would last 50 years, twice the length of F-35B was bollocks. We will have 40 year old carriers flying aircraft that will have been developed 40 years before. dust of the Tornado and Harrier designs they are stll valid by that announcement.
There again they will have been mothballed or sold long before then
Twice the length of an F-35 is different to twice the length of the F-35 class in general. We won’t still be flying the same F-35s we just bought.
Steve, I never heard about the carriers being later converted to CATOBAR; the plan to have the carriers FFNW CATOBAR were aband?oned at a very early stage, so conversion would have been difficult to impossible and certainly hugely expensive and time-consuming.
Both carriers and F-35Bs will be regularly updated so is there is a need to be concerned at their origins in future being 40 years old
The problem with the carriers is where do we envisage them usefully operating.
Britain needs is a Julian Corbett that can identify an affordable and coherent offensive strategy. And then being Lazer focused in achieving that goal.
Regretfully, there hasn’t been any good explanation on their utility for Britain. Apart from possibly against Argentina.
How on earth do they know that F35B will go out of service in 2069 when they don’t even know when the next tranche(s) of the aircraft will enter service? I call BS.
It’s just confirming a plan that has been in place for a long time…they always have an assumption of an out of service date..for strategic planning purposes…it’s a plan nothing more nothing less not a promise or guarantee.
Sorry to keep posting on this thread, but 40 years for a modern plane is pretty normal. The USMC will have operated the Harrier 2 for over 40 years when they retire in 2026. Harriers were in British service in some form or other for about 40 years.
It will help a 70 yu design by then. The basic airframes flew in beauty contest against Boeing in October 2021. Perhaps 2069 allows 10 years of block 4 software release 🤔
Hopefully there’ll be other STOVL designs in the pipeline well before then. Do you reckon there’s any secret works in the back shed somewhere to bring a Harrier 111 to life? Lol. Or, a navalised Tempest? Why not convert one of the carriers to a hybrid so it can utilise a greater range of aircraft and keep the other as STOVL, drone and helicopter?
I understand the impetus behind the recent desire in many circles to get away from buying US equipment, but this keeps things in perspective and proves that basing long term procurement decisions on current events makes no sense. 2069 is over 40 years past the end of the current US administration. What if he gets reelected somehow? It’s still a drop in the bucket considering the timespan of modern weapons systems.
What if he suspends the constitution, invades Canada then decides he wants to reunite the English speaking people of the world.
What if in 10 years time Japan decides they want to reactivate the Kido Butai with their new flat tops and go on a rampage around SE Asia round 2? Shall we kick them out of Tempest now just in case? Jeez mate.
I didn’t know TDS was so prevalent in England.
Haha nice. I had to look that one up.
It generally is not. Europeans can read the signs, such as when on Feb 6 he issued by Executive Order personal and travel sanctions against people who worked for the international Criminal Court, as the opening shot in his campaign do undermine international law:
“IMPOSING SANCTIONS ON THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT”
The heaviest TDS is amongst those Trump supporters who are entirely up his rabbit hole. Some others are slowly waking up to what they have done.
After the Trump regime let a journalist into their non-secure meeting about air raids in Yemen, there are plenty of Trumpists trying to blame the journalist, rather than the Mickey Mouse Club who now run the USA. Even Mr Trump himself said “never heard of it” after his VP had already publicly briefed that he had discussed it with the President.
We can’t afford to start thinking about the US as the enemy. They may be currently led by a misguided fool but they are not the enemy. Don’t be fooled into thinking we don’t need them onside.
2069. Bet it still doesn’t have Meteor, Spear 3 or drop tanks by then.
I’ll take that bet
Funny enough, I Just watched a podcast which was rather a bleak state of the air force and F-35 with Professor Justin Bronk.
I saw the same podcast, Justin Bronk loves to tell everyone how shit the UK is.
Insightful guy but his assessment is normally the UK can’t fight its way out a wet paper bag and everyone else is amazing.
By his own assessment investing in three more sky Sabre for RAF airfields, some hardened aircraft shelters and two more E7 would see the UK pretty well defended from anything the Russians can throw at the UK. That is hardly a reason to cancel the carriers, suspend Tempest and get rid of the chinook and C17 fleets like he advocates.
It really amazes me how frequently apparent professionals discuss the UK going to war with Russia but seem to assume some how we will be fighting alone and the Russians can reach the other side of Europe.
Russias ability to touch the UK in some theoretical UK Russia war would be a bit painful but that’s it. 300 or so sub launched cruise missiles is realistically it and maybe the odd IRBM.. the Uk could throw 60 sub launched missiles back..hunt down its navy.. maybe undertake the odd air attack..and stop Russia from accessing the Atlantic.
Essentially we would nibble at each other until one side decided it was feed up of being nibbled on and decided it was going to make concessions for peace..Sadly I suspect that would be the UK as democracies are generally less willing to take long term pain..as when the public are offered a vote they will vote for being better off and living on peace if that’s possible.
I doubt they have 300 cruise missiles left in stock. Their long range precision strike capability seems to have taken a battering in the Ukraine war and they don’t appear to have the ability to build more missiles at any useful scale.
Ask the Ukranians if Russia is running out of Missile stocks – the clueless and uninformed have postulated since February 2022 that ‘don’t worry Russia hasn’t got large stocks of Missiles and Precision Weapons and they haven’t got the capability to Manufacture them,they will run out soon’ and three years later they they still use them at will.Draw your own conclusions.
Do you think that with 80 operational tanks and 100 operational fighters the UK has some oportunity against Russia ? , even with the
disastrous russian performance in combat there is no chance.
Ever heard of NATO? Even without the US we have more than enough allies to take Russia apart.
In which particular theatres of ops do you think we will have to fight Russia on our own?
Ummm we island Russia long way across sea..tank not float..fighter jet need air to air refuelling or carrier to reach…. Difficult concepts…any bizarre UK Russia only conflict will be bound in the iron laws of the tyranny of distance…tanks and infantry will be irrelevant, even with the airforces only those parts of the airforce that can be tanker supported for a 1500mile round trip will have any involvement or those aircraft on a carrier…and even in its thin state I would bet the RN to be able to fight the Russian northern fleet a standstill…
Both nations would nip and hurt each other but neither could land a decisive blow… it would be a long drawn out affair of cuts until one side got fed up of the pain.
Neither the Uk or Russia has the mass of strategically mobile capabilities to really do more that shake the other…unless it went nuclear.
Justin Bronk with Ward Carroll a few days ago was very illuminating, with the contrast of views.
As was Anne Applebaum, one of the most respected experts on authoritarians for the last 3 decades, interviewed by the Bulwark podcast.
Retirements and withdrawals are always bought forward as a cost saving. The statement is BS.
Wasn’t tornado in service well past it’s originally planed replacement date
They need to plan but forecasting an end of service in 44 years can only be a wild assumption, 44 years ago nobody could have imagined that wars would have been fought with stealth jet fighters, drones and AI. For what we know, in 30 years the skies might be dominated by AI-enabled UAVs, and not only the NGAD/GCAP/SCAF might have become obsolete far ahead than initially planned, but it might not make sense anymore to train and risk the life of pilots.
Hopefully there’ll be other STOVL designs in the pipeline well before then. Do you reckon there’s any secret works in the back shed somewhere to bring a Harrier 111 to life? Lol. Or, a navalised Tempest? Why not convert one of the carriers to a hybrid so it can utilise a greater range of aircraft and keep the other as STOVL, drone and helicopter?
Because the cost of doing so is prohibitively expensive, and would take said carrier out of action for years.
If we had the money for that we’d have gone for CATOBAR carriers in the first place and bought F-35Cs from the start.
Tempest will not be developed into a Carrier Capable Aircraft, simply put it will be too big for the QE’s for starters.
At the current glacial rate of procurement it will be 2069 before we have purchased the full projected order . The typhoons could also give long service if upgraded , they are an excellent airframe with huge potential for upgrade and longevity
Read: Britain hopes the US isn’t a full blown dictatorship by 2069. Britain regrets defence reliance on US. Britain might have it’s security dependence back by 2069.
But probably not, because we’re scared to make difficult decisions – like pursuing a fully independent ICBM capability.
2069 does seem like a long time but the F35B of 2024 and the F35B of 2050 will be very diffrent beasts. I have noticed some comments on the carriers and CATOBAR. I for one would like to see two emals one short starb of the ski jump for UAVs and one full emal port side for future capability. However, I suspect that the carriers will only get the UAV capable emal. What I really think is needed is arrestor gear and barrier, angled deck with a deck extension port side. This would serve several purposes such as the ability to land larger UAVs, support allied carrier operations if their carrier is damaged and possibly increase the types of aircraft used. I suppose it is the implementation of the Ark Royal project for both carriers which could be done when they go in for a long refit.
Lets hope we don’t have to use them in anger then or even in sort of a tantrum as we have already dropped one in the oggin.
We dropped harriers all over the place to be honest.. fighters tend to crash a lot.
If we keep buying 3 F35Bs a year, per the plan for Tranche 2, then it’ll be 2055 before the 138th unit is delivered anyway.
Is that because the UK’s 2nd batch of F35Bs is to start being delivered in 2055 ?