The Ministry of Defence has again confirmed that the RAF’s Shadow Mk2 upgrade programme was cancelled because it was late, had failed to deliver the capability required by the Armed Forces and was facing what ministers described as unacceptable cost escalation.
The latest explanation came in a written parliamentary answer to Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who asked why the cancellation appeared in the MOD’s 2025-26 annual report and accounts under losses.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard referred directly back to an answer he gave in November 2025, stating: “I can confirm that the Shadow Mk2 upgrade programme has been cancelled as it is late and has failed to deliver the capability that our Armed Forces need. It is also facing unacceptable cost escalation and delays.
“This decision will allow us to focus on investing in other defence priorities and the Shadow Mk1.
“We won’t shy away from making difficult decisions that arise in the best interests of our Armed Forces and the taxpayer.”
The response follows earlier reporting by the UK Defence Journal, which first revealed the cancellation in November 2025 after being alerted to the decision by an industry source.
At the time, the Ministry of Defence confirmed directly to the UK Defence Journal that the programme had been stopped. A spokesperson told us: “The Shadow Mk2 upgrade programme has been cancelled as it failed to deliver the capability that our Armed Forces need. It was also facing unacceptable cost escalations and delays.”
Sources told the UK Defence Journal at the time that the decision had been taken ahead of the Defence Investment Plan following what were described as acute programme challenges.
The Shadow Mk2 programme had been intended to upgrade the RAF’s Beechcraft-based Shadow surveillance aircraft with new mission systems, defensive technology and increased range. Following the cancellation, the MOD said investment would instead be directed towards other defence priorities and sustaining the existing Shadow Mk1 fleet.
The department told us in November: “This will allow us to focus on investing in other defence priorities and Shadow Mk1, which remains important for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work.”
It added: “We won’t shy away from making difficult decisions that arise in the best interests of our Armed Forces and the taxpayer.”
The Mk1 aircraft remain in operational service with 14 Squadron at RAF Waddington, providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability while the MOD considers longer-term airborne surveillance requirements. The cancellation also had an industrial dimension because work associated with the Shadow programme supported activity in Wales. In its response to the UK Defence Journal last year, the MOD stressed that it remained committed to the wider Welsh defence sector.
A spokesperson said: “Wales, and its innovative defence sector, plays an important role in the UK’s defence industrial landscape. We’re working closely with the Welsh Government on the Defence Growth Deals to ensure it delivers its full potential long into the future.”
Need to cancel more of the failing to deliver programs rather than wasting money.
It’s a hard one, as on one side for sure need to stop wasting money on things that don’t work, but on the flip side the capability that currently exists is being cut without a replacement plan.
Agreed and agreed.
Well be that logic they need to scrap Ajax first thing Monday morning.
That one is long overdue – it’s never going to work properly.
Yep, must be something in the contract that neither the previous or current government want to admit or maybe it’s subject to NDA and so they can’t. It’s hard to understand why the program wasn’t scrapped years ago.
I suspect the later, as if it was a massive mistake then the next government would love to make it very public that the previous had screwed up.
If that’s the case then you have to question if the procurement was done in the national interest.