- The UK’s fighter jet expansion will cost £71 billion over 40 years, triple initial estimates
- The National Audit Office report includes £14 billion for fuel, personnel, and infrastructure
- Delays, staffing shortages, and infrastructure gaps have hindered the F-35 programme
The UK's plan to significantly expand its fleet of fighter jets is poised to cost 71 Billion pounds ($96.2 billion) over the next four decades, more than triple the original estimates, according to a report by Britain's spending watchdog.
The projection by the National Audit Office released Friday is sharply higher than the 19 billion pounds the Ministry of Defense initially said it would cost to purchase and maintain the Lockheed Martin Corp. F35 warplanes.
The increase to the total price tag in part reflects the fact that the MoD's initial estimates were based on the cost of the first 48 planes, rather than the 138 it eventually intends to buy, the NAO said. It also reflects 14 billion pounds in costs the NAO said would be required for fuel, personnel and additional infrastructure through 2069 that were excluded from the previous tally.
The push to modernise and expand the British airforce with Lockheed's advanced warplanes has also been stymied by delays, staffing shortages and a lack of adequate infrastructure, with about 11 billion pounds spent so far.
"The F-35 program offers significantly improved capability and considerable economic benefits to the UK. But the capability benefits are not being fully realized due to delays, infrastructure gaps and personnel shortages," said Gareth Davies, head of the NAO.
"The MoD now needs to decide where to prioritize its resources to improve capability in a way that maximizes the full benefits of the F-35 program to the UK," he said.
The report comes as UK and other countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are planning to increase their military spending in response to pressure by the US and the concerns about the risk of further Russian aggression in Europe.
A spokesperson for the MoD said that the program "continues to operate within its approved budget" and said that despite delays, the UK will have two full squadrons of F-35 fighter jets ready for deployment by the end of this year. Moreover, the ministry said the decision to buy 12 A model F35s - instead of the B version - as part of its plans to bolster NATO's nuclear-deterrent operations will cut the cost of each plane by 25%.
But the overall plans to equip the largely US-made aircraft with UK-developed missiles have been pushed back until the next decade, while the full delivery of the first batch of 48 aircraft is also behind schedule, according to the NAO, which said such delays are "undermining the armed forces' war-fighting capability."
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