UK reconsidering F-35B numbers

According to reports, the UK government is considering reduction in numbers of the VTOL version of the F-35 for the Royal Navy’s future aircraft carriers, but accepting more land-based variants. The Ministry of Defence has committed to buying 138 F-35Bs, which operate from aircraft carriers, but there reportedly has been a recent review to consider taking fewer F-35Bs and instead freeing funds for conventional F-35As. These moves would reduce the number of F-35Bs to 48-60 and switch the rest for acquisition of F-35As.

A Royal Navy source said the RAF had “no interest in tying up its future with two new aircraft carriers due to become operational in the next few years, and wanted to ensure that some F-35 squadrons

could operate from land air bases”. An RAF source dismissed this, saying that a “blend” of the two aircraft made more sense because the F-35A was cheaper than the F-35B, had a longer range and could carry more weapons because it did not have to carry extra fuel and engine power for short takeoffs and vertical landings on an aircraft carrier. However, there is still some uncertainty on the affordability of 138 aircraft of either variant. The British MoD has not cleared a timeline for the order, merely committing to acquiring the first 48 by 2026.