Originally Posted by
Asturias56
Lovegrove specifically said they wouldn't see more jets for "the next 4 years" - I'm hoping he means they take 4 years to deliver and they'll order more in 2022 for 2025/26 delivery - not that they're going to wait 4 years to order more......... but in these troubled times ...
The timeframe indicated by PUS is "late '20s", no doubt the actual dates will be heavily influenced by the additional affordability concerns of beancounters in the House of Darkness (HMT) following the effects on the economy of Covid and Brexit. The SDSR/IR cycle might also have an effect with the next one due in 2025 or 2026. Also we may well have a different party in government at the end of 2024.
Q54 Chair: To probe this a bit further, we have confirmed that we have 48 in the bag, but we don’t know if we will be getting any more than that. Am I right so far? A simple reply, please.
Sir Stephen Lovegrove: We do know that we will be getting more of those; we just haven’t put them on contract yet.
Q55 Chair: Have you got the money for that yet or not?
Sir Stephen Lovegrove:The money only goes for the next four years, and that will cover the 48. There is absolutely no question that we will need to be buying more F-35Bs if we want to properly equip the carriers. It will be in the late ‘20s.
Q56 Chair: I am right in saying that you have the 48 in the bag, and you have the money to pay for that. Beyond that, there is a question mark. That, I think, is fair. Do we agree so far?
Sir Stephen Lovegrove: I am really aiming not to be Sir Humphrey on this one. There is a question mark, yes, in the funding, because we only have funding for the next four years. And you are talking about beyond that period. If, however, the question is about whether we need more F-35Bs to properly equip the carriers, then there’s no doubt about that: yes we do
My favourite Lovegrove quote from this session is, "I have obviously become a fully naturalised Whitehall citizen, because I have been accused of being Sir Humphrey twice in the first hour."