Defence Committee takes evidence on the F-35 and Carrier Strike programme
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The Defence Select Committee today held a one-off evidence session
with expert commentators on the Ministry of Defence and Armed
Forces’ progress on the F-35 and Carrier Strike programmes. The
witnesses were: Justin Bronk Bronk, Research Fellow in Combat
Airpower and Technology, Royal United Services Institute Nick
Childs, Senior Fellow for Naval Forces and Maritime Security,
International Institute for Strategic Studies Captain Royal Navy
(Rtd) Dan Stembridge, Deputy...Request free trial
The Defence Select Committee today held a one-off evidence session
with expert commentators on the Ministry of Defence and Armed
Forces’ progress on the F-35 and Carrier Strike programmes.
The witnesses were:
The witnesses were enthusiastic supporters of the programme but
were concerned that the government's initial target for the
number of F35s could not be afforded. Replying to Sarah Atherton, Nick Childs said the carrier element of the programme was well on track in terms of delivery and was ahead of the F35 in terms of being able to deliver capability. Dan Stembridge said there was a lack of clarity regarding 'attribution to task' which led to 'less than good decisions' being made. He shared Ms Atherton's concern about the delivery rate of the F35s, which was made more difficult because of Covid-19. Justin Bronk said the whole project was going well, although the rate of capability increase in terms of UK-specific weapons was "not what we would have liked." There were 18 jets at RAF Marham, with 17 more to be delivered by the end of 2022 and an eventual target of 48. Discussions were ongoing with Lockheed Martin about fulfilling the rest of order. COVID was unlikely to result in the loss of more than one or two aircraft, which was not a cause for concern. However, he did have concern about the F35's capabilities in relation to foreign powers' defences and whether there would be enough aircraft to meet the demands of modern warfare. This line of questioning was expanded by committee chair Tobias Ellwood, to whom Nick Childs replied that 60 to 70 aircraft would be required to fulfil optimum capability and flexibility to meet all eventualities. Dan Stembridge thought the requirement would be for 70 to 80 aircraft - four squadrons of 12 - to have a continuously high level of readiness. Martin Docherty-Hughes asked about the strategic purpose of the F-35 and Carrier Strike capabilities. Justin Bronk said the government had consistently stuck to its 138 target, but that was an aspiration which was unlikely to be funded at this stage. The project enabled a contribution to armed sorties into an intervention operation. The question for the government was now whether the F35 programme would be sized to deliver what the RAF required, in which case, there may need to be cuts elsewhere in the defence budget. Dan Stembridge said the F35 was a political as well as military tool. The government had been clear on what it was capable of but less clear on the attribution of the units. Nick Childs agreed there was a lack of clarity over the ability of the programme to be able to deliver in a changing world. Dan Stembridge and Nick Childs disagreed with Sarah Atherton, who said she was playing devil's advocate, that the carrier programme was not sufficiently supported by other capabilities.
Kevan Jones asked about the effect on UK aerospace and maritime
industries of not procuring the full 138 F35s. Justin Bronk said
the UK would lose influence and preferential status in terms of
follow-on weapons integration and our ability to 'edit mission
data files.' He pointed out that at the Fort Worth factory, where
there were currently 200 F35s in production, only one was for
delivery to the UK. Emma Lewell-Buck asked about concerns over the integrated defence review. Dan Stembridge said it would be 'very unhelpful' to have a discussion about reducing the carriers. Justin Bronk said he would love to see - but did not expect - clear political direction about the role of the armed forces. Were they expected to do everything ('America at 10%'), which would require at least 3% of GDP, or something else? Nick Childs agreed it was not sensible to have a one-carrier fleet. Dan Stembridge cautioned against relying in our plans on the US to provide F35s for our carriers. Derek Twigg asked about the correct mix of aircraft. Dan Stembridge said there needed to be a cross-over period, but having multiple aircraft types added cost and complexity. He stressed the need to consider UK industry and jobs when developing the air fleet. He and Justin Bronk agreed that, for a minimum requirement of 36 combat jets to be deployed, over 100 F35s would be required. Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood questioned if there were cleverer and cheaper ways of dominating the skies using high-tech capabilities and weapons systems. Nick Childs said the carriers were flexible enough to adapt to different scenarios. They also had a deterrent role to play. It was important to have a combination of capabilities and not to adopt just one approach. Dan Stembridge said the carriers could be seen as overkill as a military instrument of war, but they were also a political statement. He defended the requirement for the F35s which, he said, could fulfil many different combat roles. Richard Drax asked about the danger of relying on unmanned aircraft and the vulnerability of the carriers. Dan Stembridge strongly argued that carriers were very hard to attack for a number of reasons. He was also comfortable with the mix of manned and unmanned aircraft. Kevan Jones asked about how carriers protect themselves, especially with the delay until 2023 of the Crowsnest system. Dan Stembridge was worried that decisions in the integrated review might be based on replacing manned systems with unmanned systems. But such projects rarely ran on time. Both he and Nick Childs stressed the importance of Crowsnest.
Stuart Anderson asked how the US would react to a reduction in
the UK's F35 fleet? Dan Stembridge said the US Navy and Marine
Corps had been nothing but supportive but he did not think we
should rely on that support. Regarding a reduction in our F35s,
he doubted that America would be keen "to contribute to our
defence budget." Nick Childs pointed out that the UK's aircraft
carriers could play an important role in enhancing US
capabilities. |