Unite the union has today called on the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
to choose Britain when decisions are made on new fast-jet
procurement.
Unite understands a decision is imminent from government on the
purchasing of new aircraft for the RAF with a choice between the
British-made Typhoon and the American-made F-35(A).
Unite is calling on the government to invest in a new tranche of
Typhoon fighter jets to ensure the UK maintains its industrial
skills base ready for the 6th generation Global Combat Air
Programme (GCAP).
Today's call also comes shortly after a report last week from
the defence select committee that highlighted the
importance of Britain's industrial capability and skills base for
Tempest/GCAP to be a success.
With full-scale production of Tempest not expected to begin
until the 2030s, retaining final assembly
capability and the existing Typhoon BAE Systems workforce of
6,500 will be a significant challenge and will be made more
difficult by the dwindling of the UK Typhoon production
line.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "The UK
possess some of the finest engineers and technicians of fast jets
anywhere in the world. With a decision
on fast-jet procurement imminent, the government needs to take
decisive action to retain these workers and ensure that we
are in a position to get more skilled jobs from Tempest/
GCAP.
"We have been saying for some time that The MoD needs
to place a further order for Typhoon aircraft, which will fulfil
a military requirement, maintain industrial capacity, and
preserve jobs and skills.
Labour must now step up to the plate and make
the clear unequivocal investment decisions that workers and their
employers desperately need.”
A UK order of 24 F35's would only secure 2-3 months of work in
Britain for 2,000 people whereas 24 Typhoons would secure 26,000
jobs for 2 years for workers in BAE Systems, Rolls Royce,
Leonardo and the UK supply chain.
Unite defence and aerospace national officer Rhys McCarthy said:
"These are highly skilled and well-paid jobs in areas
of the UK where this sort of work is hard to come by. In an
increasingly unstable world it would be reckless not to ensure
that our own domestic defence industry is properly supported and
capable of meeting the security challenges we face.
A purchase of Typhoons not only demonstrates faith and investment
in British jobs and growth for the UK economy, but also displays
confidence in a defence product that has a significant export
market.
Rhys McCarthy added: "The government has been clear
that the British economy needs growth and that our defence
industry is crucial to this. Selling the Typhoon overseas
can contribute to our GDP but we cannot expect foreign
governments to buy our fast jets if our own government won't.
It's clear that they need to make a decision to ‘make
and buy British".
