(Secretary of State for
Defence): The House may welcome an update on the
deployment of the RAF’s new F-35B Lightning II
Aircraft.
The F-35B Lightning II is an advanced, fifth-generation aircraft
procured to operate alongside the RAF’s Typhoon. It will be
jointly manned by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, will be
able to operate with equal capability from land and sea, and will
form an integral part of Carrier Strike operating from the Queen
Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. With advanced sensors, mission
systems and low-observable technology (stealth), the Lightning is
a fifth-generation air system which will provide the UK with a
world-beating combat air capability. The Lightning will give the
UK operational flexibility, allowing us to act at a time and
place of our choosing. Seventeen of the first tranche of 48
F-35Bs have already been delivered; we will maintain our plan to
buy 138 F-35 Lightning aircraft over the life of the programme,
as stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.
A detachment of F-35B Lightnings from RAF Marham has been
forward-based at RAF Akrotiri since late May, developing the
capabilities of this formidable new fifth-generation combat
aircraft. This deployment has proven extremely successful. It was
therefore, decided to offer the aircraft for use on Operation
SHADER as part of the UK’s contribution to Global Coalition
operations against Daesh. On 16 June, UK F-35B flew its first
ever operational sorties as part of Operation SHADER. Since then,
UK F-35B Lightnings have flown in the skies of Iraq and Syria,
performing a variety of roles for our partner forces on the
ground.
This F-35 activity is part of the UK’s ongoing contribution of
sophisticated air power to Global Coalition efforts to find,
identify and degrade Daesh’s military capabilities. Although
Daesh’s military capability has been diminished, the organisation
continues to pose a threat, and counter-Daesh operations are as
crucial now as they were at Daesh’s height. The UK’s F-35B
Lightnings will continue to help combat Daesh over Iraq and
Syria, before returning to the UK in July 2019.
