Summary: Originally committed to acquiring 138 F-35Bs, the UK has adjusted its procurement strategy to balance between immediate next-generation air capabilities and future investments, such as the Global Air Combat Programme (GACP) aimed at developing a sixth-generation fighter. Despite scaling back, the intention to acquire more F-35s remains firm, highlighting the aircraft's integral role in the UK's defense strategy.

UK's Growing F-35 Fleet: A Testament to Advanced Air Warfare

The United Kingdom took delivery of an additional Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft this past weekend, bringing the total of the fifth-generation stealth fighters operating from the island nation to thirty, while an additional four are undergoing testing in the United States. The British military remains on track to receive all of the forty-seven aircraft it expects in its first batch of F-35s by the end of next year, and the Ministry of Defense has expressed interest in purchasing a second tranche of the fighters, UK Defence Journal reported.

“Funding for a second tranche of F-35 Lightning has been delegated to Air Command as part of our recent annual budget cycle,” Jeremy Quin, then minister of state at the Ministry of Defense told UK Defence Journal last year. “As you know, we are going to acquire 48. We have made it absolutely clear that we will be acquiring more.

As a key member of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the UK’s Ministry of Defense had committed to purchasing 138 F-35Bs—the short/vertical takeoff and landing (S/VTOL) variant of the joint strike fighter—but scaled back on the acquisition as it sought to invest in other projects, including the Global Air Combat Programme (GACP) to develop a sixth-generation fighter and supporting systems.

One of the UK’s F-35s was lost in a crash from the flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2022 during the warship’s return voyage from her deployment to the Indo-Pacific.

Improved F-35 Capabilities

As previously reported, both the Meteor air-to-air missile and the SPEAR 3 cruise missile will be integrated into the Royal Air Force’s Lightning IIs by the end of the decade.

The Meteor is a Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVR AAM) system developed by MBDA. It was developed as part of a joint coalition that includes the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden working together to provide access to technology and expertise across those nations. However, there has been a delay with the Meteor, as the British F-35B jets were to have been equipped with missiles by the middle of this decade.

More F-35s Than All Other Stealth Aircraft

In January, aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin announced that it completed production on the 1,000th F-53 Lightning II. There are now more F-35s in service than all other stealth aircraft combined.

Apart from older fourth-generation aircraft, including the F-15 Eagle and the Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name “Flanker”), few modern combat aircraft have even reached a “four-figure” production run.

According to the F-35 Joint Program Office, the Lightning II also accumulated more than 773,000 flight hours spread out across 469,000 total sorties, while the stealth fighter is now operated or will be adopted by more than a dozen allied and partner nations around the world.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].