Building up the Lightning Force – when will the UK get its F-35 jets?
It has been revealed that Full Operating Capability for the UK Lightning Force has been delayed by 2 years. Here we look at how UK F-35s numbers are building up, issues that impact the pace of aircraft delivery and how this affects the carrier air group generation.
The trope the Royal Navy has “aircraft carriers without any aircraft” continues to do the rounds as both ships have been seen at sea in 2022 with almost empty decks. There are of course more than 20 F-35B jets already in British hands and ready to equip the carriers but their availability is constrained by several factors that are beyond the control of the RN. Effectively the entry into service of the ships has been achieved approximately on time while development of the fixed-wing air group is behind schedule. 8 UK aircraft embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth for a 9-month global deployment last year and jets will again be onboard for another operational deployment on the Baltic this Autumn. Until HMS Prince of Wales suffered a mechanical breakdown, the RN was in the fortunate position of having two active aircraft carriers. Normally the RN will have just one carrier at sea or at high readiness and it should be remembered that full operating capability (FOC) for carrier strike is not due to be declared until December 2023.
Backing a winner
The F-35 continues to be controversial, criticised as expensive, delayed and continually failing to meet all its performance targets. Despite the army of naysayers, more nations keep on signing up to buy F-35 simply because the alternatives and adversary aircraft cannot come close to matching its capabilities. Switzerland and Finland are the latest countries to sign up to a programme that is expected to eventually deliver over 3,000 jets worldwide. 15 nations have now placed orders, 9 of them have declared IOC, the US, UK and Israel have already employed the jet on combat missions and another 7 nations are interested or in negotiations to buy. Pilots who have flown the aircraft are very enthusiastic and fully understand what a leap forward from ‘4th generation’ fighters the F-35 represents. The continuing problems with the aircraft relate mostly to software development, maintenance logistics and production schedules.
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https://www.navylookout.com/building-up ... f-35-jets/