The fifth generation fighter F-35 is becoming the backbone of the air defense of many European countries. Despite the high cost, identified technical deficiencies and operational limitations, governments of dozens of countries want to integrate it into their air forces. The American manufacturer Lockheed Martin has already shipped a thousand units. According to Teal Group analyst JJ Gertler, more than 2,500 F-35 aircraft are currently on order for the planned 14-year production period. This corresponds to a rate of around 180 aircraft per year.
The last country to officially place an order was the Czech Republic. Recently, Greece The company has also received the green light to purchase twenty stealth aircraft from the United States. A senior US Air Force general recently told Breaking Defense that orders for the aircraft now exceed Lockheed’s production capacity.
Be that as it may, the F-35’s supremacy was one serious blow to the European aviation industry, This highlights Europe’s strategic dilemmas between striving for interoperability within NATO and maintaining the autonomy of its own defense aviation industry, writes expert Charles Brown in Air&Cosmos magazine. It is worth remembering the alliance of four European countries working on the Eurofighter Thypoon program, in which they participate Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. Exactly these countries – with the exception of Spain – already have the F-35.
The United Kingdom is the United States’ closest partner in Europe and the latest evidence of this is the Announced purchase of up to 138 fighters from Lockheed Martin in the coming years according to the original plan drawn up in the early stages of the program. It is the largest order from a country other than the United States.
In a parliamentary debate James Cartlidge, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defenceprovided a detailed response on the UK’s commitment to the F-35 programme.
This statement stands in sharp contrast to the ambiguity that surrounded the UK’s procurement plans following the 2021 Defense Command document, recalls expert George Allison in the UKDJ media. This document did not reaffirm a commitment to acquire 138 F-35s, leading to speculation that the UK might reduce its involvement in the program. A spring 2023 report from the UK Parliament’s Defense Committee said: “Uncertainty remains about the plans for the F-35 fleet in terms of its final size, operational use and allocation; and there are ongoing concerns about the cost of the program and the rate of force growth.”
At the moment, The Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy operate the F-35B variant. It has short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities and is suitable for both land and sea operations.
The United States is the primary user of the F-35. They plan to acquire a total of 1,762 F-35As for the Air Force and another 693 F-35B and F-35C aircraft for the US Marine Corps and Navy.
How is the F-35?
The F-35 is one Fifth generation multi-role stealth aircraft capable of air-to-surface electronic warfare. Information gathering and air-to-air at the same time. Introduced in 2006, the F-35 was developed by eight partners as part of an international program of which it was a part Expelled Türkiye in 2019: USA, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Norway, Denmark and Canada.
