https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...uld-play-like/
Dogfight over UK's pledge to buy American fighter jets 'could play out like the Westland affair'
Theresa May is under pressure to row back on a multi-billion-pound deal to buy the new generation of US fighter jets in a row being likened to the Westland affair.
The British Government is committed to buying 138 F-35 fighter aircraft from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has so far bought 48 aircraft at a cost of £9.1 billion but is now reconsidering its pledge to buy a further 90 F-35s. Instead, the Telegraph understands it is looking at purchasing Eurofighter jets, made by a European consortium that includes the UK. The European manufactured jets are currently, on best estimates, about half the price of an F-35.
Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, is publishing a defence review in July, which may cast doubt on the affordability of the further 90
F-35 Lightning II aircraft, the most expensive but technically advanced fighter jet in history. He has also launched a Combat Aircraft Industrial Strategy, due to report in the summer, which is set to decide the balance of future spending on jet fighters - and whether the UK goes for a predominantly European fighter, despite Brexit, or a US-developed jet.
The simmering row has been likened to the Westland helicopter furore that blighted Margaret Thatcher’s government, and forced the resignation of the then defence secretary, Michael Heseltine, who insisted the UK should pick the British-made helicopter over a US model.
The purchase of the extra F-35s is expected to be raised by Donald Trump when the US president meets Mrs May during his visit to Britain next month. But Mr Williamson is understood to favour an option that would ensure the viability of a joint European jet fighter business until 2050 at least. The Prime Minister will come under pressure to pick a side.......
The MoD made a commitment to buy 138 F-35s in its Strategic Defence and Security Review of 2015. The MoD is currently negotiating with the Joint Program Office, the US department in charge of contracts, over the cost of the Lockheed Martin built aircraft.
The Conservative MP Mark Francois, a former defence minister, and a member of the defence select committee, said: “We are sceptical about the viability of all 138 aircraft, which is what we are theoretically committed to. Unless Lockheed Martin can bring the cost down, the F-35 will suck up other funds for other programmes in the defence budget. If the costs continue as they are that will have a serious knock-on effect to the rest of the defence spending programme.” He added: “The MoD are looking again at the costs of the F-35. The question remains from aircraft 49 onwards how many of these are you going to end up buying and the MoD is looking at that at the moment.”........
In a possible indication of MoD thinking, it has emerged that the UK Government has been lobbying its Belgian counterparts to buy the Eurofighter in preference to the F-35. The F-35 is the most technologically advanced aircraft on the marketIn a joint letter, co-signed by the British, German, Italian and Spanish ambassadors, they urged the Belgian government to commit to the Eurofighter Typhoon. “We believe that our European offer to Belgium, through Eurofighter Typhoon, is the best solution to meet the country’s immediate and long-term defence, security and industrial needs,” wrote the ambassadors including Britain’s Alison Rose, adding: “Almost every Euro spent on Eurofighter remains in Europe across a broad European supply chain involving more than 400 companies and 100,000 jobs.”
Tim Ripley, aerospace expert at Jane’s Defence Weekly, said: “It’s shaping up to be a grand stand-off, a transatlantic dog-fight, the defence-industrial saga of the summer and a Westland-esque moment for the British Aerospace industry.” Mr Ripley said that the Defence Secretary was “reputedly dead keen on the European plane”, which had prompted him to launch the Combat Aircraft Strategy.
An MoD spokesman said it was too soon to speculate on the outcome of the review. The spokesman said: “The F-35 programme remains on track and within budget, providing a game-changing capability for our Armed Forces. We continue to drive down costs with every purchase and remain committed to purchasing 138 F-35 Lightning aircraft while British industry benefits from an order book of over 3,000 jets.”