A recent exchange in the House of Commons has reignited speculation over the timing for the UK’s potential order of Typhoon jets, with Defence Minister Maria Eagle hinting that an announcement may be on the horizon.
The comments follow mounting pressure from industry and MPs over the industrial impact the production of the jet has.
Andrew Snowden, Conservative MP for Fylde, raised the issue during a Commons session, noting that partner nations in the Eurofighter consortium—Germany, Italy, and Spain—have already placed significant orders. “With Spain placing an order for 25 Eurofighters on the 20th of December, and Italy following suit on the 24th, but still nothing from the UK Government on the 25 Typhoon jets that are needed for the RAF,” Snowden said.
“So will the minister spread some festive cheer into the new year and give us an update on where the government is with placing that order… a delayed Christmas present for the UK defence industry?”
Responding, Maria Eagle acknowledged the importance of supporting domestic production and exports, stating, “I recognise the point that the honourable gentleman is making. It’s certainly true that exports, in addition to production for us, for our own use, are important.”
While Eagle refrained from providing a concrete timeline, her comments appeared to signal progress. “We’re working very, very hard on some of the export campaigns. And I can’t say any more than that at present, but I can assure him [we’re] working very, very hard,” she added.
In a light-hearted remark, Eagle suggested an announcement could coincide with a future occasion, saying, “Perhaps it won’t be a Christmas present, but perhaps—I don’t quite know when his birthday is—but a present sometime later on.”
The UK has faced criticism for its lack of recent investment in Typhoon production.
Snowden has repeatedly raised concerns about the programme’s future, describing BAE Systems’ Warton site as “central to the North West’s economy and the UK’s defence industry.” As quoted in the Financial Times article linked to above, Snowden also said:
“Most recently, I asked whether the RAF’s plans to order 24 Typhoon jets were included in the Budget, only to discover they are not.”
Unlike the UK, other Eurofighter nations have recently grown their fleets: Germany committed to additional jets in June 2024, while Spain and Italy placed significant orders in December. The UK’s last Typhoon order, by contrast, was placed in 2009 as part of the programme’s third tranche.
The RAF’s Typhoon fleet plays a critical role in the UK’s defence capabilities, particularly in quick reaction alert missions. Industry experts warn that without a new order, production gaps could undermine the domestic defence supply chain and impact jobs at key facilities like Warton.
The government has linked defence spending decisions to its ongoing Strategic Defence Review (SDR). Eagle reiterated that the review would shape future procurement, though her comments hint at progress for Typhoon advocates.
Image Chris Lofting. GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons.
Let’s hope it will be an RAF announcement and not for say Turkey, welcome though that would be.
Exports sure, but it sounds like any for RAF is a vain hope
There is nothing in that quote that suggests a domestic order is on the horizon.
It’s on the headline, though: “A recent exchange in the House of Commons has reignited speculation over the timing for the UK’s potential order of 25 Typhoon jets for the Royal Air Force, with Defence Minister Maria Eagle hinting that an announcement may be on the horizon.”
Would it really be mentioned in the Commons for just an export order? Surely that’d be a purely BAE matter.
They’ve mentioned the exports before, and clearly did in this exchange, any RAF order on the other hand seemed much more flaky
Purely based on what was said, of course. I think my interpretation is well-supported. While the Minister stops short of explicitly confirming a UK order for Typhoons, her reference to production ‘for us, for our own use’ and her remark about giving a ‘present’ for the MP jokingly asking for the Typhoon orders as a gift sometime later strongly implies that the matter is under active consideration. The connection to the Strategic Defence Review further suggests that such an order could materialise once those deliberations conclude. Her comments certainly leave the possibility open, IMHO.
I agree with your interpretation.
It is laying the breadcrumb trail for an announcement.
TBH that announcement will be based on initial work done by the last government anyway as the negotiations would have had to have started quite a while back.
Yes I was about to paste that line. Not a firm statement of intent but as you say suggesting it’s at least under serious consideration. My only concern would perhaps be that it doesn’t exclude if we get foreign sales uk sales might just disappear from these plans. Hopeful but a little nebulous too.
I don’t believe the present typhoon fleet is in a sustainable place, due to airframe hours left and the number of airframe hours being used each year by the RAF. I’m waiting on an FOI around airframe hours which will confirm. But essentially they have probably burned around 50% of the fleets hours, so another 15 year with 5 front line squadrons and then a further 5-10 years with reducing numbers of squadrons makes the airframe hours numbers looks very iffy without some fresh airframe hours in the fleet and 25 new typhoons would give an extra 150,000 hours or about 6 years of use.
I strongly disagree, thats quite a rose-tinted interpretation of the English language. The question was couched around a domestic order, and the responses from her were framed specifically around export orders with no prompting. 2+2 does not equal 5.
No that would be an ecumenical matter.
To you. Purely based on what was said, of course. I think my interpretation is well-supported. While the Minister stops short of explicitly confirming a UK order for Typhoons, her reference to production ‘for us, for our own use’ and her remark about giving a ‘present’ for the MP jokingly asking for the Typhoon orders as a gift sometime later strongly implies that the matter is under active consideration. The connection to the Strategic Defence Review further suggests that such an order could materialise once those deliberations conclude. Her comments certainly leave the possibility open, IMHO.
George, please could you put the comments system back to what it was before?
It’s impossible to have the sort of constructive conversation that was common before, now that nobody gets reply notifications and you can’t reply past a certain number of times.
The comments was one of the bits I most enjoyed about UKDJ and I have been spending much less time on the site recently because of the lower quality of conversation.
“So will the editor spread some festive cheer into the new year and give us an update on where the website is with placing that change… a delayed Christmas present for the UKDJ comments industry?”
Seconded.
Agreed.
Yes please!
I’ve been wondering if there was something up with my comments, had no notification of any replies, afor a few weeks now. I didn’t realise something had been changed, just assumed their might be a glitch in the system or no one wanted to reply..!
No-one has time to go digging through every article that’s been commented on, just on the off chance that someone replied. Agree with a rollback to what was before!
Fingers crossed this becomes a real thing and these 25 Typhoons are ordered for the RAF.
I’d like to think that this would be in addition to retaining the Tranche 1 aircraft, but in all likelihood they’ll be a replacement, which is better than just getting rid of without replacement, at least.
The tranche 1’s are due out of service this year and my understanding is aside from the 4 in The Falkland which will be retained until 2027 the others have pretty much all been withdrawn from frontline service, with many already cannibalised for spares and still around in name only.
Are you sure Tranche 1 are in the Falklands?
I thought they were Meteor equipped jets now.
That is correct – Tranche 1’s are still used in the Falklands Flight.The odd thing is that they were swapped out late last year for some fresh ones but T1 like for like
As always words, a hint but nothing else. No where does say any will be ordered.
Yes, that’s why the headline says so. Purely based on what was said, of course. I think my interpretation is well-supported. While the Minister stops short of explicitly confirming a UK order for Typhoons, her reference to production ‘for us, for our own use’ and her remark about giving a ‘present’ for the MP jokingly asking for the Typhoon orders as a gift sometime later strongly implies that the matter is under active consideration. The connection to the Strategic Defence Review further suggests that such an order could materialise once those deliberations conclude. Her comments certainly leave the possibility open, IMHO.
George I just hope you are right, but I am extremely sceptical on any major new purchases being made anytime soon. I have always come back to one simple truth and I think it speaks far more about our Treasury led Defence policy than anything I’ve heard from these Westminster verbal games.
Since February 2022 other than CASD, investment for AUKUS and already contracted procurement the U.K has cut every single part its defence, either as Aid for Ukraine or short term cuts to save money for something else previously in the Equipment plan.
And unless I’ve missed something in that same 34 month period the only new piece of kit actually ordered has been 14 second hand Archer 155mm SP guns and some NSM for the Navy.
You are a leading Defence journalist so please correct me if I’m wrong !
Well what have the MOD bought in last 3/4 years? a lot talk of things but not much to show for it. That is the main issue a lot of sound bites, interest in the last 4 years we bought less than 2 btys worth of wheeled artillery and new SSM for the navy, some wheeled recce vehicles. Retired all the CVR(T)S, as near as retired AS90, all our AWACS. 14 Chinocks/40ish Pumas, both LHD’s, Large amount of Warrior, are going to retired 9 types of wheeled vehicle, RFA tankers, 20 Typhons and yet none of the kit has been replaced in service. It will be in years to come we go with out and make do.
So i’ll not hold my breath for 20 ish new aircraft that not get here before about 2027/28
If true. Now to get people to join as pilots and techies. Ensure the training stream is faster than it has been over recent years etc. Is there the space at Lossie and Coningsby for maybe 2 reactivated squadrons. If seen as air defence why not reactivate Lecuhars airfield as another QRA airfield and war option.
Because extra bases cost a lot of money to run! Leeming is the de facto 3rd Tiff base if ever needed
Can’t see new aircraft coming but if so Leeming would be a wise choice .HAS still on site 👍
Let’s hope this comment is true. The air force and the navy have had the lion’s share of the defence budget over the last few years. The F35s are split between two services. The Typhoon is a good aircraft and the airforce needs more of them. Its faster than the F35. The tranche1 aircraft should be retained aswell. BAE have a rebuild plan in place for these aircraft. RAF needs at least a minimum 150 Typhoons. It may not be as stealthy as the F35 but its loadout is more interesting.
And all that needs money we don’t have
I have actually put in a FOI for the airframe hours on the typhoon fleet, the last available data point for individual airframes was 2019/20 so with this data point, the data on annual fleet usage of airframe hours it will be pretty easy to see if more airframes are needed. People forget airframes are a consumable item and the RAF burn through the equivalent of about 4 a year at present, and it’s only rotating the use of a large fleet that stops the airframes being used up…but now the single seat fleet is down to 96 airframes, there will be little capacity going forward to maintain a sustainment fleet.
They’ve got more than 96 and don’t burn through an equivalent of 4 per year. Not sure where you get that info from….
They’ve only got 111, not that many more
They are presently using 23500 airframe flying hours a year, a typhoon has a life of 6000 flight hours…that’s the equivalent of 4 typhoons per year… and they do only have 96 single seat tranche 2 and 3s, ( I specifically said single seat) they will for a bit still have the 4 tranche 1s in the Falklands flight but they will be gone soon and are now essentially not part of the core typhoon fleet, so essentially they have 96 single seat typhoons and from that pool they are running
1 squadron ( front line)
3 squadron ( front line)
XI squadron ( front line)
IX squadron (front line)
6 squadron ( front line)
12 squadron ( joint squadron)
29 squadron ( OCU)
41 squadron ( test and evaluation)
Now if you look at the last fully published airframe by airframe, what each squadron had list the RAF was running 12 single seat typhoons in each squadron, with The front line squadrons having 1-2 two seaters each and the OCU having 12 single seat and around 6 two seaters
Infact in 2014 with only 4 squadrons and the OCU and running only 14,000 airframe hours per year ( the tornado fleet was running around 14,000 hours as well at that time) the RAF had 120 typhoons and only managed to have a sustainment fleet of 25 ( 95 airframes were deployed to those 4 squadrons and OCU)..so how the hell is the RAF going to manage a sustainment fleet, when it has 5 front line squadrons an OCU and 12 squadron…and burns 10,000 more airframe hours a year..than in 2014. It’s not is the answer..the RAF is now going to be burning through the remaining airframe hours of those 96 single seat typhoons at a hell of a rate.
Just for interest the RAF tornado fleet had a total airframe hours of around 3 million hours..in the first 20 years of service it burned through about 1 million hours.
The total typhoon fleet had a total of only .96 of a million hours, that was including the 60 odd tranche ones..which had burnt through an average of 2500 or their 6000 hours by 2020.
That’s the problem fast jets are a consumable and you only prevent consumption by having a large fleet so you can maintain a sustainment fleet. The RAF will not have the numbers to maintain a sustainment fleet, so it’s going to start burning airframe hours a significant pace.
All data is from MOD FOI requests.
2 sqn is also a front line unit at Lossiemouth.
Cannot see UK ordering 24-25. I think any other is unlikely but, if we do place one, it’ll be a handful to take the fleet up to 115-120 and partially replace the T1s.
We can but hope! 25 more Typhoons plus a further order for at least another 35-40 F35Bs is badly needed!
I like to see optimistic comments on here but personally I would be happy if they announced 12 Typoons and 12 F35b’s on top of the 74. Not as optimistic as you, just not so disappointed when they don’t announce either.
Hope to god they get bought ,time is not on our side, catchup ,that’s one thing we the British Excel at ,more are needed ,tranche one going out of service ,numbers down ,but let’s see what happens?the next plane will be sopwith camels if they do t get the ole fingers out of the backside
So if we do get the additional 25 Typhoons, what will we have to cut in order to get them?
The Peace Dividend delusion has allowed politicians to safeguard their electoral prospects by shifting Defence spending to social provision and even war in Europe hasn’t enabled them to pivot back to Defence, the first responsibility of the nation state.
All that social provision is only possible because of effective Defence so depends on credible deterrent force that must be funded and delivered.
Given the recent budget, I suspect additional borrowing will be used, so the cuts are to UK financial credibility and future interest payments…
On the flip side of that, it’s money into UK businesses and a boost for the related local economies.
Not a large boost, but better than nothing.
I feel it will be during the review, not before hopefully it’s fully funded cash injection and not payed for by cutting something else which we ‘need less’ if they are doing a cut or re orbat I think RN/RM may completely lose any future assault ship replacement to pay for the new jets.
Then again spending at 3% and a leaking of the report that’s got sent back would also be nice, MPs are quite good at leaving them on trains near reporters or showing pages to the cameras.
Lord Robertson told the Defence Select Committee that SDR has a 2.75% GDP by 2030-40 target, which sounds like HM Treasury at work, when Economic circumstances allow.
Obviously that is still a Peace Dividend delusion number, and doesn’t make good 25 years neglect, never mind an actual war in Europe Defence expansion requirement, say 3.5% GDP..
The peace dividend delusion is proving to a massive problem around every deffance project, lack of speed in buying the kit or changing the kit mid production. 3.5% would be great though I could be able to run a full range package with all the toys more than once a year.
Capabilities without continued Readiness assessment run the risk of being paper tigers. So a 3.5% GDP figure has to be put in context of Cold War 5+% GDP Defence spending. I suppose that having recent WW2 experience helped with the political will to pay the Price of Freedom.
Presumably the Chief of Defence Staff message that we are in a pre-war phase and conscription would follow soon was a nudge to pay now, or pay much more blood and treasure later.
How many politicians or citizens heard and understood, I cannot tell, but suspect not many. Thus the delusion continues, unchallenged.
It gets challenged quiet regularly but by those that have lost power (pervious government types) or those high ranking officers that have left the armed forces. The rank and file normally get told to shut up not matter what the public facing image is it’s still a military at the end of the day
A pre war phase I very much agree with war is a short flight away and it’s now an industrial war on all fronts.Conscription though would be a disaster unless the attacker that caused it done something so terrifying/terrible it brought the whole nation together and brought everyone’s mind into a true war footing like those in Ukraine in the lead up to there invasion or those in the aftermath of 9/11 an attack on that scale I hope to think is unlikely.
Having more fat in the system would be fantastic 5 wedge tails more subs more everything really especially the people to run,maintain ,us it and have time off, more down time on the equipment to fully rebuild/maintenance periods.
Years ago I don’t know if the numbers are still the same but it takes around 70 people to keep and get one fast jet in air it could be less now but it just shows the massive amount of personal the military are short by.
UK defance is currently in a verying degree of shit states it’s either flush with cash and political will in some areas or has been left to rot either in the water,in a Wearhouse or on a pan the most dangerous though it’s been used beyond it’s intented out date or is in constant us. Its not just the equipment that breaks it’s the people too.
Far too slow.
Should make it 2.5% of GDP by the end of this year and at least 3% by 2030.
In the end it was not so much the peace dividend that was a delusion of “ the end of history” essentially draw down after the fall of the USSR was appropriate..but for some reason the west decided it had won history and simply refused to recognise any further threat developed..the 1997 defence review was actually a pretty good baseline that could have been maintained on 2.5% GDP and was about correct for a unipolar world with no threat The issue was
2001..the war on terror, in reality this was essentially a global campaign that required separate and extra funding over 2.5%. 2.7-2.8% would have allowed the 1997 baselines to be maintained. But the diversion of funding to the war on terror..saw a degradation from the 1997 peace baseline. But it’s ok because it’s the end of history.
2008-2011 Russia invades Georgia and china doubles down on the 9 dash line..essentially these are red flags that the age great power competition..there needed to be a new review based on both the impact of the war on terror and the development of a potential new age of great power competition..but it’s the end of history and the west has won and we need to make some savings…defence budget should have been 2.8-2.9% but instead it plummeted to 1.9-2.1%
2014 Russia invades a European democracy and chinas first five year plan that is focused on a possible conflict to bring tiawan into the fold..there is now a great power competition..the west at this point was heading for a Cold War and should have been laying down red lines and the Uk should have been expanding it’s armed forces from the 1997 baseline. GDP spend should have planned to hit 3%. But the west had won, china needs the west as a market and will come in line for economic reasons as people become wealthier and want the west..Russia used deniable actions and the west wanted its oil..but it’s ok as the west had won.
21-22 China indicators that it’s going to go to war over Taiwan unless Taiwan gives up and Russia does not even bother with deniability any more in its invasion of a democracy..even threatening the west with nuclear war if it supports the democracies…this is even more deadly and likely to lead to war than even the Cold War and china is a far greater threat than the USSR..with a developing axis of allies…at this point the west should have been hitting 5% of GDP in a desperate bid to deter war and if not at least prepare for it…every even admitting that “the end of history” was so much BS..but we have fallen so low that our ambitions do not even reach the benchmark for forces levels needed in a peaceful world set in 1997.
The peace dividend is some what of a post Cold War myth. Spending 2.5% of GDP on defence is the UK’s long running average. The Cold War spending was largely a blip caused by the Soviets not disarming post war.
That’s not normal and ultimately the soviets bankrupted themselves.
Nah, this will be for export orders. I am expecting them to call a capability gap soon while awaiting Tempest !
I jest, but the fleet of Typhoons is going to get worked hard while waiting for Tempest, another 25-30 Typhoon might keep the fleet at a sensible size for a bit longer.
We cannot rely on other countries for our defence !
Sounds like an announcement for export orders. Not new jets for the RAF. Any export orders are still good news for Warton and the many supplier’s.
A bigger RAF would be a sensible way for us to increase our contribution to future European security. The economies of scale from a Turkey order might make more UK Typhoons a better overall option than F-35B.
This doesn’t ring true to me. Successive governments and the MoD have shown zero interest in procuring more Typhoon’s for years. Why the sudden change, and at a point with allegedly even less money than usual and a SDR coming up?
Could be a miscommunication with the minister referring to exports and upgrades to the RAF’s current fleet rather than any top up order.
Hope I’m wrong!
I hope you’re wrong too, of history is anything to go by the RAF have a checkerd past upgradeing airframes it will cost more and take longer than buying new. But there could a change you never know.
Their usage of airframe hours has been going up a lot..23500 hours a year. They may need a better margin of airframes and hours for the sustainment fleet.
Did she finish her statement with “just kidding”?
Get them ordered ASAP; with the AESA radar and the aerodynamic performance package.
Nothing will happen till after the SDR
Yeah, same with healthcare. Can, kicking.
Parliamentary games, but I doubt even this would have been mentioned if there isn’t a likely new order on the horizon. 25 would make good the T1 lost but 50 would improve capability towards the levels originally planned. I can’t see the point of ordering more F35s until the integration of Meteor and Spear 3 is achieved. Problems with TR3 and block 4 continue, pushing likely IOC to 2030.
As always civilians by way of our elected politicians repeatedly fail to comprehend that they have a ‘Duty’ to Defend ‘The Realm’ and that failing to ensure that our Armed Forces are properly equipped to carry out their task in defending the United Kingdom are in my opinion committing gross incompetence verging on a charge tantamount to dereliction of ‘Duty ‘ I for one do not trust any of them in telling the truth.
It makes perfect sense to buy 30-odd Typhoons with the mk2 radar. So it won’t happen. It’s far too sensible.
Interesting.
Time will tell, but I cannot see it, sadly.
The long expected Saudi order for more Typhoons was vital for both BAE Systems and the UK maintaining its workshare for the Tranche 4 orders. It’s now clear that the order is dependent upon the Saudi’s being let in to the GCAP Tempest consortium, otherwise they will join the Turkish TAI KAAN fighter programme. Given that Japan and Italy are apparently unenthusiastic about including Saudi Arabia into GCAP, it’s left the UK in a very difficult place. UK industry and in particular Wilton desperately need another 6 years of Typhoon work (even if at a very low delivery rate) or there will be a disastrous gap before Tempest work starts to ramp-up. But the money (c.£3 billion) for 24 more Typhoons can only be found by cutting back on Lightning F-35 orders. Hopes for more than 72 F-35’s would then be ended, and the final 24 aircraft would probably be ordered at just 2-3 a year going well in to the 2030’s – as such many will effectively become replacements for the 10 or so early model (i.e. pre-Block 3i/TR2) aircraft delivered prior to 2018. I’m not sure if c.61 F-35B’s will be enough for the anticipated three frontline squadrons (at a nominal strength of 12 a/c each – drawn from a common pool), let alone the speculated fourth.
It’s hard to see 24 Typhoons being ordered, and 27 F35B’s, plus the initial ‘substantial’ investment in GCAP.
I will be astonished if it happens, the budget constraints will likely stop any such order in SDSR25, ever being launched.
Wonderful if true, 24 tranche 4 machines ordered, with the surviving tranche 2 and 3 brought up the same advanced standard.
Tempest is not due to be in service for another ten years. Now I don’t think Mr Xi, Putin etc will wait for us to have equipped the RAF with them to kick off the next war but won’t hurt us asking.
Not sure how many roll off the production every month but given how many are in front of us. We have plenty of time to save up/ crowd fund etc!!
This is a bit like ordering Gloster Gladiators in 1938.
Not really the typhoon is pretty much better than most other operational jets around.. the US are still producing F15s and F16s both decades older than typhoon. The typhoon is very much the hurricane to the F35Bs spitefire.
It’s more like the general purpose mosquito to the premiere P51D Mustang.
The typhoon has emerged as probably the best multi role aircraft in the world. As good as Rafale, better than F16 and F15 and superior to anything China and Russia produce.
Not that I think it’s likely we will field 3 types of fast jet but part of me thinks it would be a waste of GCAP flight hours in 2050 to be sending one up to investigate why a Ryanair flight from Alicante is not responding to ATC, a typhoon would be more than enough. Likewise dropping bombs on terrorists in pickup trucks probably doesn’t need an F35. A decent number of the latest spec typhoons as they go out of production could do a job for the RAF and other nations well into the 2050s.
Maintaining the workforce during the gap to Tempest/GCAP is vitally important IMO.
The RAF desperately need a new tranche of typhoon to enable donation of tranche 1s to Ukraine and to bridge the gap between typhoon and full operational service of Tempest and eventually retirement of typhoon.
So a new tranche to serve for around 15 years.
Our current typhoon fleet has been hard used and it’s airframe’s flying hours being churned through. So it makes a lot of sense and categorically must be done.
We need more of both, F35s cannot replace what a Typhoon can do. F35 cannot carry the range of weapons or the payload. Nor can it get as high or as fast. It is the old Spitfire v Hurricane arguement. The spitfire was the glamorous plane but in the BoB it was the Hurricane that did the heavy lifting.
If Ukraine has taught us anything it is the value of mass, it has also taught us the value of dispersed ops. Something the Swedes figured out years ago and before anyone chines in about the F35B vtol. It is at the severe cost of range and payload.
F35B carries more fuel than a Typhoon.
I’d love to see more meat on the bone with both Typhoon and F-35 RAF fleets but, alas, I suspect any uplift in Typhoon numbers would come at a cost to F-35 numbers, or some other, equally needed capability.
Whilst 25 more Typhoons would be welcome, it would still leave us way down the list in terms of number of fast jet airframes in Europe / NATO.
Germany, France, Turkey, Italy and possibly even Spain will have larger fast jet fleets.
Greece have about 170 jets.
Touche. If we include Russia, that would leave us 8th in Europe; despite having the most consistently high defence budget. I know we have naval and nuclear commitments that others don’t, but I still feel like we get far less bang for our buck, especially as we have significanly smaller land forces than most of these countries. It would surprise me if Poland overtook us in the medium term too, leaving us in 9th place in Europe.
It is a sad state of military affairs in the UK, that a possible order for 25 jets is seen as something like a big deal.
The inventory for the RAF and RN in regards to fast air assets is, well a joke and I wouldn’t be surprised if the labour* SDR also merged with a revised national school curriculum for everyone to learn russian* or chinese*
* Lower case lack of respect intentional.
The UK definitely is not planning on being on the winning side with how it treats defence.
Can’t see the RAF getting new Typhoons but will keep fingers crossed .The only presents HMG gives is call cuts 🙄
Great, more money for war, in an age when men should have lessons from the past.
So long as there are weapons, and men/women prepared to use them, there’ll always be war.
The new build order for more RAF Typhoons is essential. It is obvious the RAF needs more combat jets. No one has anything but praise for the Typhoon and I don’t buy this 4th gen verses 5th gen nonsense. And if new RAF Typhoons are ordered it should include development end entry to service of the conformal fuel tanks and upgraded engines with 10% (at least) extra thrust to make the Typhoon an even more formidable strike platform. Plus all the relevant avionics and weapon upgrades. The UK F35 purchase was a side show in my view and the UK would be better off waiting for the Tempest as its proper next generation combat jet in twenty years or so. Preferably as a naval capable platform learning from the huge success of the Rafale for France. Being over reliant on the US as we now see being played out was never a good idea strategically or economically.