Experts told the House of Lords that Britain’s management of the F-35 fighter jet programme suffers from inconsistency, lack of engineers, and chronic under-resourcing.
Dr Sophy Antrobus of King’s College London said the UK’s unstable approach to the programme has undermined its standing with partners.
“The commitment to 138 but, contractually, only to 48 [aircraft] has not helped our reputation as a partner nation,” she said. She also cited the 2010 to 2012 switch from the F-35B to the F-35C and then back again as a decision that “had an impact at the time” and showed a lack of continuity in defence planning.
Antrobus added that ongoing US technical delays, such as the Block 3 software refresh, are affecting UK capability, though she said none are critical.
Dr Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute said that while the United States has faced its own delays, most of Britain’s shortfalls stem from domestic issues. “There are plenty of F-35 user nations, Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, that have managed to get much more out of their fleets,” he said. “A lot of the limitations on the UK’s fleet capabilities are UK-based and UK-derived rather than programme-derived.”
He said similar problems plague other aircraft programmes such as Typhoon, Gripen E, and Rafale, all of which have suffered delays. The UK, however, has worsened its position by buying too few aircraft too slowly and underfunding engineering support.
“We have consistently struggled to fly them as much as we intended to,” Bronk said. “When we have sent a carrier strike group away for months, it has in essence shut down the production of new pilots.”
Asked whether the issue was a shortage of skilled engineers, Bronk replied, “Mostly, yes.” He warned that Britain’s lean operating model has created “huge fragility” within the system.
“Whenever you add additional commitments, ‘We’ll just do this exercise or this deployment’, there is no slack in the system and you end up completely overstressing it,” he said. “Output and ambition have consistently outstripped resourcing. It is the core problem at the heart of most of the UK Armed Forces’ issues.”
The MODs way cheap as we can get by on, same story year after year contract after contract. There will be no change just same old mess and penny pinching that in the long run costs way more. All these reviews in how buy kit and look after it. And it come down short term savings leading to long term delay and vast expense ever time, never going to change.
Love to proved wrong when we buy our next big buy but not holding my breath.
I would like to think attitudes and working practices are changing, and more funding and industrial capacity is certainly on the up. But I don’t think we will see these impacts for a good few years yet.
Martin, I think the expectation is that the next order will be for 27, of which 12 would be A models for both training and tactical nuclear strike. The placing of this order seems to be taking an absolute age.
Is there an un disclosed issue with the MOD having no money or it just a stop on buying any thing until the end of the year. Seem to not a lot going on ref the Defence review and avery thing is oh weait until later we are on it but with nothing happening. I under stand the Army has put in what kit it wants how many, etc but its a totl lack of any thing for well over a year.
A wasted year, if 2030 is be all date then time is ticking and the whaffle and delay is a disraction to other bigger issues?
We have always had SDRs then follow on equipment plans with budgets. So it’s nothing new.
As the song says …”Oh what a surprise”
But but, we have nearly a whole carrier load, well, nearly being 2/3rds and and, one F35 can do the job of 5 Tornado, Harrier and all the other aircraft they replaced.
Is anyone actually awake in the house of Lords ?
No. They include Lords who happily waved away cuts in their time as Chiefs.
here here here here !
Same recurring theme.
HMG desperate to Granstand as a P5 and thus a major power, but won’t spend what’s necessary.
So the forces do their best, and another 2 billion needs saving this year…