The UK Government has addressed recent parliamentary questions concerning the distribution of F-35 aircraft components and their potential transfer to Israel.
Maria Eagle, Minister of State for Defence, responded to two separate queries regarding the movement of F-35 parts, highlighting the UK’s limited control over and involvement in the global logistics of the programme, which is led by the United States.
When asked about the proportion of UK-exported F-35 components ultimately received by the Israeli Government since October 2023, Maria Eagle stated:
“The global distribution of F-35 components is controlled by the US Government-led F-35 programme. The Government does not have visibility of F-35 components distributed by the programme to each F-35 nation and is unable to provide an estimate.”
This highlights the centralised nature of the F-35 programme, where logistics and distribution are managed by the US Department of Defense.
A separate question raised by Clive Lewis MP sought clarity on whether F-35 parts had been sent from RAF Marham to Israel between October 2023 and August 2024. In her response, Eagle confirmed:
“At the request of the US-led F-35 Programme, there were 14 transfers of F-35 components from RAF Marham to Israel between October 2023 and August 2024. The transferred components are the property of the US Department of Defense.”
Eagle also noted that, following the Government’s September announcement on arms exports, there have been no direct transfers of F-35 parts to Israel via RAF Marham since the licensing suspension.
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It’s time to get off the nationalist high horse and accept that every modern product is pretty much built by everyone one. The UK should not be dishing out unilateral sanctions against anyone except in the most extreme conditions and only on finished weapons systems. Otherwise there is a good chance we find ourselves cut off.
If we sell an ejection seat to the USA who subsequently put it in a fighter jet and sell that to Israel that’s is not the same as us selling weapons to Israel.
Maybe be more real with the public. We’re gonna be part of a gen 5 aircraft, all parties get parts regardless of politics. Think government answer is good enough, we’re not sending stuff, it’s rerouted elsewhere. From memory Turkey was proposed as a F35 partner and pulled. Probably some American political reasons to include Isreal in F35?
Israel was a level 3 partner in F35 from the start, Turkey was a level 2 partner but got kicked out after it brought S400.
If you start cutting off spares then people won’t buy your products.
It really is as simple as that.
This will limit exports of our 6th generation plane….countries with questionable records won’t take the chance that we take a marginal stand.
As long as the ceasefire holds we should drop this. Not that Israel will trust the UK again. Shame they were very interested in Sea/Labd Ceptor.
I can’t imagine Israel was interested in Land Ceptor unless they thought we where giving it to them for free, Israel don’t buy weapons.
Of course they are interested in Sky Sabre. They supply a third of it.
Very good point Jim. Very few things these days that aren’t multi national, including the likes of my HP sauce! Made in the Netherlands by a company registered in Ireland and “marketed” in the UK. Might be a silly example but true of all things including our aircraft, ships and tanks. I’m all for develooping UK industry but not at the price of sensible competition.
Even British passports are made in France
Another sop to anti Semitic elements. They should be ignored. End of.
It seems UK do not care if there is Israel or Hamas/Hezbollah. It will be very funny for UK if Israel disappears.
The people asking these questions want Israel to go away. Frankly, Israel has done the job no one else at present could have. My question is why did Israel show such restraint?
Yup! Israel lives in a tough neighborhood that only respects strength (which is why the Mullahs in Iran are crapping themselves). I know because I lived there.
It’s so arrogant and easy to sit back and point fingers when our politicians wouldn’t have the balls to do what the Israelis have to do.
Let’s not forget for one second who started all this – Hamas. Every Palestinian casualty can be squarely leveled at their feet. Had they not did what they did that dark October day last year, we wouldn’t be having this conversation!
What does Israel want Gaza to look like say in 5 years after bibi has gone. No hamas would be nice, but will it be friendly with Israel? Who will pay for rebuilding?
They are Marxists, it was Karl Marx that wrote their rulebook and wrote the “The Jewish Problem”: if Jews don’t move to socialism and abandon Jewish culture they should be destroyed. Since Israel started as an almost socialist country – it actually one of rare freedom respectful socialism in the world with kibbutz since no one was forced to go – it had the support of the left initially. After US support the Marxist left considers Israel to be a traitor to their cause so much more hate then if they were just enemies.
Then add the Islamists obviously they want Israel to go away and Hamas/ Hezbollah to rule the Levant.
No Alex – read the Old Testament and the New Testament (see the letter to Galations as well as Jesus Genealogies list in Matthew and Luke) or indeed the Koran. The people Israel started off as descendants of Jacob. Jacob’s uncle Ishmael was jealous that Abraham\Ibrahim passed his birthright though Isaac to Jacob. Titus’s Arch in Rome shows the Jewish temple Menorah carried as Trophy back to Rome in 70CE 500 years before Mahommed what more do you need for history carved in rock almost 2000 years ago, or the Dead Sea scroll 200 years earlier than that?
“They are Marxists, it was Karl Marx that wrote their rulebook and wrote the “The Jewish Problem”: if Jews don’t move to socialism and abandon Jewish culture they should be destroyed.”
Marx wrote ‘The Jewish Question’ in response to Bruno Bauer’s claims that Jewish religious identity was incompatible with a liberal secular state. Marx claimed that in a liberal secular state an individual’s political identity would become emancipated from their religious identity: we would become citizens rather than Christians, Jews and Muslims.
Karl Marx was a jew.
The U.K. needs to be careful as it actually needs Israeli parts from Israel for equipment more than Israel needs the uk equipment
People will keep asking silly questions, government will have to reply, than they gets their headlines even if there is no real news, the headlines are their sole objective