Lockheed Martin UK has been awarded a £264 million contract to sustain Britain’s F-35 Lightning fleet under a new five-year deal known as the Lightning Air System National Capability Enterprise 28–32, or LANCE 28–32.
Published by Defence Equipment and Support on 4 November, the notice confirms that the LANCE contract will serve as the National Support Solution (NSS) for the UK’s F-35B aircraft. It is designed to provide the “Freedom of Action” services that complement the broader F-35 Global Support Solution (GSS) managed by the United States.
According to the Ministry of Defence, “LANCE 28–32 services will be delivered by the Contractor at the Main Operating Base and when deployed and embarked. Services will include operations, technical, maintenance, training, logistics and facilities management support.”
The deal, valued at £220 million before VAT, runs from January 2028 to December 2032, with the option to extend through 2033.
The LANCE enterprise effectively secures Britain’s independent sustainment capability within the wider global F-35 ecosystem, providing local control over critical maintenance, spares management, and operational support while ensuring interoperability with allied fleets.
It will cover operations both at home and overseas, including embarked support for the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, which serve as the main operational platform for the Lightning Force. The contract represents a continuation of the UK’s long-term commitment to the F-35 programme, which remains central to the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy’s joint carrier strike capability.
The LANCE framework also supports Britain’s stated goal of maintaining “sovereign freedom of action” within a multinational programme that has sometimes drawn scrutiny for its dependence on US logistics and software infrastructure. The contract, published under the Procurement Act 2023’s transparency requirements, marks one of the largest post-sustainment support packages for a UK air system this decade.
Will that include soft ware up dates or that extra in the rip off buy fom the yanks con? they control what we get and when and at high cost. Great plane as long you do not get close to it then a 40 year old desgin F18 out flies it,
Come on mate, in a real situation the 35 would have killed that F18 long before. You cannot go by some HUD photo image.
Had to combat a few Chinese ‘plants’ on quora yesterday arguing about the capabilities of the J-16 and how it locked onto an F-22 blah, blah, blah and killed 6 Rafales for fun (the evidence suggests 1) and even how many think the Rafale is better than the F-22. However amongst the fluff there are important questions too hidden amongst the Haw Haw hyperbole. The J-16 is effectively just an updated Russian design but it was claimed that the J-16s sensor suite and its acquisition radar is superior to that in the F-22. Certainly it was claimed it had nearly twice the range. Now I have no idea of the truth of that or whether it was prior to F-22 upgrades or what, or at what range it could acquire a stealth opponent indeed (any lock on was when they were very close which has never been claimed to not be possible), so would be nice to have an objective view. Equally it was claimed newer Chinese fighters would have even better sensors and of course stealth qualities. So as we hear on the other side, nothing but arrogant and ignorant BS from Trump about American weapon’s superiority in every way, it really is becoming very difficult to determine truth from fiction, or increasingly even where to start. I just hope that someone, indeed many someone’s aren’t being fooled by this complacency and are taking active efforts to determine exactly what the comparative truths and threats are, or we are, as in the Malaysian campaign in WW2 going to be in for a very nasty surprise I fear.
You’ve been on Quora!
I’ve read stuff on there but never posted. I’m confident our own SMEs within the military know the ins and outs beyond the hyperbole.
Whether HMG are able to act on it is doubtful.
Agreed from a distance it well out does the F18, just up close is embrassing but no shock.
I do like the heading on this article making it sound like LM are doing us a favour rather than being given a contract and a good bit of associated money to do so. Questions: is there realistically any other Company who could actually have done this and to what extent does it give LM and by association the US Regime (after all it is not only a powerful influence already by taking away Pentagon independence, it is actively investing in these Defence concerns or wants to) have direct/indirect control over the upgrades and even effective operation of these aircraft. The F-35 is vital to our defence, having that making us even further in the hands of a potentially hostile or unsupportive regime is not to simply be ignored with heads in sand. Trump might be an Anglophile any other MAGA leader (with long historical erratic memories that reflect somewhat Rome’s view of a conquered Ancient Greece) is more likely to be anything but.