UK Defence Committee Continues Questions RE: CVF, F-35

CVF Alliance Design(click to view full) DID has put together a focus briefing on the British CVF future carrier program, and covered both its growing ITAR-related quarrel with the USA and the potential for a British pullout from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program. From the UK House of Commons Defence Committee release: “Providing the Navy with the ‘carrier strike’ capability is expected to cost some GBP 31 billion (whole life costs), including some GBP 12 billion of procurement costs. The key programmes are the two new aircraft carriers and up to 150 new carrier borne aircraft – the Joint Strike Fighter [DID: F-35B STOVL]. It is possible that neither the carriers nor the aircraft will be delivered on time, or, crucially, at the same time, and the Committee says MoD and the Royal Navy must make plans for bridging any gap that may emerge… On the aircraft, the programme is being led by the US. It has experienced problems which must be monitored closely. The Committee is concerned that the UK should get all the information and access to technology from the US that it requires to have ‘sovereign capability’ – the ability to maintain the JSF aircraft and […]