20,000 jobs on the line if government fails to back UK defence
industry
Unite, the UK's leading union, which represents tens of thousands
of workers in the defence industry, is calling for urgent clarity
from the government about the future of the UK's entire fighter
plane fleet, after it was revealed that the prime minister will
commit to buy a dozen F-35A fighter planes.
The UK's existing Typhoon fighter plane fleet is aging and needs
urgent replacement. Unite has argued that this should be with the
latest version of the Typhoon, which is made by BAE Systems.
A purchase of new Typhoon's will immediately protect around
20,000 highly skilled, well paid defence jobs, primarily at BAE,
in Warton Lancashire but also at other companies including Rolls
Royce, which builds the engines and Leonardo which builds some of
the aircrafts key components.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Not replacing
existing fighter planes with new Typhoons would be a tremendous
act of national self-harm.
“Government ministers need to stop dancing around their handbags
and announce that we will be purchasing new T5 Typhoons. Tens of
thousands of highly skilled UK defence jobs as well as our
national security are reliant on that decision. In contrast, the
UK jobs benefit from new F 35 orders is negligible and it doesn't
help when government repeats highly exaggerated claims about
that.
“If we fail to back our defence industry then we will lose our
sovereign capability to build fighter jets. The UK will not have
the skills or ability to build and develop the Tempest aircraft,
which is essential for our long-term security.”
The UK alongside Italy and Japan is currently developing the
Global Combat Air Programme (Tempest). The entire new stealth
fighter programme would be in jeopardy if the UK does not have
the skilled workforce to develop the programme.
Over the operational lifetime of the F-35 and the Typhoon, the
Typhoon will support six times the number of jobs directly and
indirectly compared to the F-35. The figures are 20,000 to
120,000.
Notes to editors
Only around three per cent of the F-35 is actually built in the
UK. The infamous figure that 15 per cent of every F-35 is built
in the UK is not true. This figure includes the single most
expensive sub-system on the F-35, the electronic
warfare/self-protection system that is built by BAE Systems
– in Nashua, New Hampshire, so it is US-built, US jobs, US
corporation and income taxes paid, US ITAR-controlled. Also
included in the 15 per cent figure is the Rolls-Royce Lift Fan
for the F-35B, which is built
in Indianapolis,
Indiana – jobs in the US, taxes in the US,
technology in US.
