The Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond flew out to Fort Worth, Texas this week for the official handover of the UK’s first F-35 stealth fighter jet from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
While Hammond says the jet is “the best warplane money can buy” some are questioning the vast cost of these aircraft in the current economic climate, says the BBC. The current cost of each jet is more than £100m.
Meanwhile the impact international success of the F35 internationally will have on British aviation jobs is being closely calculated. As the tail section of every F-35 stealth fighter jet is being made by BAE Systems the omens for aviation jobs here are good.
According to BAE Systems over 3,000 F-35 Lightning II aircraft stand to be produced, based on current requirements from the US and other international partners, with planned rates of production set to reach 200 per year (or one a day) by 2015.
Fifteen per cent of F-35 Lightning II work is carried out in the UK and over 130 British companies contribute to the supply chain. It is worth over £1bn to UK industry each year and could support around 25,000 British jobs over the next 25 years.
However the UK order has already been reduced. The last Labour Government said the UK would buy 138 planes but Mr Hammond has so far committed to purchasing only 48. The number could go up in the future.
Hammond is on record saying the new F-35 jet it would give the RAF and Royal Navy “a world class fighting capability” with the ability to “project power” off the two new aircraft carriers now under construction, anywhere in the world.
The F-35 stealth fighter jet is replacing the Harrier jet which had a range of 300 nautical miles, far less than the F-35’s possible 450 miles. While the Harrier could reach a speed of 650mph, the F-35 can fly much faster – more than 1,200mph.
The Harrier had no radar transparency or stealth capabilities, but the F-35 has bot, says the BBC’s report. “Its acute angles and special coating make it difficult to detect on any enemy radar.”
Another benefit is that it can potentially carry a heavier weapons load than the Harrier, although the F-35B “jump-jet” is the least capable of the three versions of the new plane.
British pilot and aviation engineering jobs have been created
British pilots have already been involved in the test flying programme, but it is reported that they will not be flying the plane off UK bases or the two new aircraft carriers until 2018.
It is hoped the number of F-35 jets being purchased will increase, not least because British industry is heavily involved in the project.
The tail section of every plane is being made by BAE Systems. This means the UK aviation industry has a 15% share of the work, enough to sustain more than 20,000 aviation jobs.
According to the BBC, the hope at the Ministry of Defence is that, with time, the cost of the plane will come down and the technical problems will be resolved.
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