Well Osborne has confirmed one rumour this morning on the Andrew Marr show. F35B purchases to be brought forward to allow a wing of 24 to be deployed carrier based by 2023. Also briefed the Sunday Times.
Osborne pays out for 138 stealth jets
BRITAIN is to buy 138 stealth fighter jets in a £12bn deal that will treble the firepower of the UK’s two new aircraft carriers and put the country on a “full war footing” in the Middle East for a generation.
George Osborne reveals today that the centrepiece of the government’s strategic defence review, to be unveiled tomorrow, will be a commitment to give Britain the world’s second most potent carrier strike force after the United States. In an interview with The Sunday Times, the chancellor said Britain should put aside its qualms about military intervention and be prepared to “project our values” around the world.
Senior government sources said the new aircraft would enable the armed forces to reclaim the Falkland Islands if they were seized by Argentina — something that critics have claimed our navy would be unable to achieve today. They will also give the UK the ability to hit Islamists in Isis territory, as well as other groups, for the next 50 years.
In an acceleration of the F-35 programme, 42 jets will be bought by 2023, with 24 available at that point for frontline squadrons operating from the new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. Before the defence review the government had planned to have eight F-35 jets available for deployment on the new carriers by 2023.
Experts had thought there was no prospect of buying anything close to 138 jets. Ministers had previously committed to deploying 14 jets on each aircraft carrier. The new pledge means they will be able to deploy 39 of the Lightning aircraft if they need to “surge” in an emergency. At least one carrier will be able to deploy all year anywhere in the world and conduct 24-hour air operations.
The first tranche of 24 jets, built by Lockheed Martin, will cost £2.4bn and trebling the number available by 2023 will add £1.2bn to the planned costs over the next 10 years. The final cost of all 138 jets is estimated at £12bn but Treasury officials will not commit themselves to a figure. The rest of the fleet will be built over the coming two decades.
The commitment to the new jets is the most high-profile spending pledge in the defence review, which includes an expansion of the special forces, more drones and plans to press ahead with the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent. On Wednesday Osborne will also announce more than £2bn in extra spending for counterterrorism. Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, was instrumental in persuading Downing Street and the Treasury not to confine new spending to homeland security issues but to deliver “hard punch” capabilities on a global scale as well.
The review will, however, include cuts to the Royal Navy and to Ministry of Defence management funding. Some military units will be forced to merge or disband, military bases will be closed and sold off and there will be more outsourcing. There will also be a reduction in training budgets and changes to military terms of service.
“By bringing forward the purchase of the world’s most advanced stealth fighter jets, we will enhance our ability to respond to threats wherever and whenever necessary. Our independent aircraft carrier capability will be second only to our closest allies, the Americans,” Osborne said. “These are versatile multi-role fighter jets, able to engage in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. And of course, British businesses and workers will benefit from this decision too, which is worth £29bn to the UK supply chain.”
Britain is the second-largest partner in the multinational F-35 programme. BAE makes air frame components in Lancashire, Rolls-Royce makes the lift fan in Bristol and Martin Baker manufactures the ejector seats in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
The navy will fare less well. Its plan to field a fleet of 13 new frigates will be scaled back by the defence review on cost grounds. With each of the new Type 26 Global Combat Ships expected to cost more than £500m, navy chiefs have had to accept that they will not be able to replace the Type 23 on a one-for-one basis. Two existing warships, including a £1bn destroyer, are also to be pulled off frontline duty.