RAF’s new jet is grounded... by bad weather!

RAF chiefs yesterday cancelled the longanticipated arrival in the UK of the world’s most advanced stealth aircraft because of ‘adverse weather’.

Four £100million F-35B Lightning II jets had been due to fly from an airbase in Beaufort, South Carolina, to their new base at RAF Marham in Norfolk last night.

Their touchdown on British soil was meant to be marked by a host of dignitaries, and crowds had already gathered at the base to watch the spectacular sight.

But the six-hour journey by the Lockheed Martin jets, developed in America, was cancelled because of stormy conditions in the Atlantic.

RAF sources blamed the postponement on ‘adverse weather conditions’. They said it would not have been possible to guarantee that a pilot could be rescued had he or she been forced to eject from the jet in an emergency.

The jets would have taken off if the UK was at war but there was no need to put pilots at unnecessary risk in peacetime.

An RAF spokesman said: ‘Our F-35s can fly in all weather conditions when they need to. With there being no rush, we are simply considering flight safety by waiting for better conditions.’