The UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy (RN) have already received 35 of its planned 48 Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II – the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant – Trache 1 purchase. The next fifth-generation multirole stealth fighter that arrives in the UK, along with subsequent aircraft, will include the Technical Refresh 3 (TR-3) upgrade.

However, it won't be the 36th F-35 produced for the UK.

"The 36th jet will stay in the United States and work at [NAS] Patuxent River and Edwards AFB for operational test," Mike Shoemaker, Lockheed's vice-president, F-35 customer programs told Flight Global. "The 37th will show up in December, and the next four jets in the springtime."

The next batch of F-35s, equipped with the TR-3 enhancement, will arrive in the UK prior to the deployment of the Royal Navy's Carrier Strike Group 25 ( CSG 25) to the Indo-Pacific with visits to Japan and India, as well as exercises with international allies and foreign partners. It will be centered on the Queen Elizabeth-class carrier HMS Prince of Wales, which will embark an airwing of two dozen of the fifth-generation STOVL aircraft.

"For the remaining seven, Block 17 jets, our intent is to deliver those before the end of the year [2025]," Shoemaker added.

The TR-3 was developed to provide numerous enhancements to the Block 4 models of aircraft, and it has been seen as crucial for enhancing the jet's digital infrastructure and weapon systems. However, delays in completing the TR-3 refresh resulted in more than 100 aircraft being deemed not ready for final delivery. That issue was only resolved this past summer, when Lockheed Martin released a truncated version of the upgrade, with plans for the aircraft to receive the final update at a later time.

Lockheed Martin Proposed More F-35s to the UK

The aerospace and defense giant has been pitching the UK's Labour government on the F-35 ahead of next year's Strategic Defense Review (SDR), arguing that it will be more economical for the British military than other options. Lockheed Martin has suggested the program could add "£45 billion ($58.3 billion) to the UK economy through 2046" – the planned end date for F-35 production – Aviation Week reported.

The trade magazine noted that currently 500 UK-based businesses are part of the F-35 supply chain, and employ upwards of 20,000 British citizens.

The UK has been negotiating terms for the acquisition of the second tranche of F-35s, which would see the fleet size grow to 74 aircraft. Lockheed Martin has pressing for the UK's original commitment to the full 138-unit procurement that was later scaled back after London cited the program's rising costs during the previous Conservative government.

Too Few Fighters

In September 2023, a parliamentary report published by the House of Commons Defence Committee warned that the UK has fewer than 160 combat jets.

Complicating issues for the Labour government is how the RAF's and RN's fighters can be employed. Each of the UK's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers can operate with up to 36 F-35Bs, so in theory, the entire fleet of the Lightning IIs could be dedicated to just that mission. While that would allow the Royal Navy to maintain a powerful airwing on its flattops, it would deprive the RAF of aircraft to carry out its own missions.

Yet, even as the UK may not have enough aircraft now, there have been calls to redirect the money away from the F-35 program and towards the UK-led Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). That program – with partners Italy and Japan – is charging ahead to develop a sixth-generation fighter aircraft that is on track to enter service in the mid-2030s and could be "optionally manned" while supported by a swarm of unmanned drones.

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].

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