From DefenseNews

 

Posted 12/08/06 10:18

Britain to U.S.: Share JSF Technology or No Deal

By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, LONDON

 

Britain should cancel a deal with the United States to purchase Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jets if America does not share sensitive technology by the end of the year, a report by the parliamentary defense committee will say, the Financial Times reported on Dec.8.

The yearly report on British weapons spending, which is due to be released Dec. 8, says “it is still uncertain whether the U.S. is prepared to provide the required information”, despite Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush agreeing in May that Britain would get the technology it needed.

Bush and Blair had said then that they agreed that Britain “will have the ability to successfully operate, upgrade, employ, and maintain the Joint Strike Fighter such that the U.K. retains operational sovereignty over the aircraft.”

Britain was planning to purchase 138 JSF aircraft that would be operated on two new aircraft carriers by 2013, but the MPs’ report said: “If required assurances are not obtained by the end of the year, we recommend the MoD (Ministry of Defence) switch the majority of its effort and funding into a fallback ‘Plan B’.”

Britain has thus far committed $3 billion to the JSF project, a spokesman for the defense ministry told AFP. It was planning to buy 150 fighter jets at $104 million each, the defense ministry said in May.

The defense ministry spokesman said, however, that the final figure for how much the deal would be worth was not yet clear.

According to the Financial Times, the issues lie in the aircraft’s advanced missions systems and its stealth capability. Britain wants key technical details so that it can upgrade the jets without having to send them to the United States.

“I have been absolutely crystal clear on this issue. Our ‘Plan A’ is to buy this aircraft, but our ability to buy it depends on having operational sovereignty,” Paul Drayson, the British defense procurement minister, was quoted as saying by the daily.

“We will not buy the aircraft until we have that.”

He said that he had a “Plan B” if the JSF project was abandoned, but declined to give details.

Drayson is to travel to Washington next week to try and break the deadlock over the project.

The JSF has been billed as the United States’ biggest fighter program. The Pentagon has planned to buy 2,400 of the stealthy multi-role fighters and other countries could purchase another 2,000 to 3,500 aircraft.

The aircraft is manufactured by Lockheed Martin with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense along with international partners Britain, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore and Turkey.

The MPs’ report also criticizes the government for its inadequate provision for troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying they are “desperately short” of equipment, according to The Independent daily.

They also criticized the defense ministry for mistakes made in an order of Chinook helicopters from Boeing which have resulted in eight Chinooks being grounded in Britain, with the defense ministry writing off the 200 million-pound cost involved.

“During our visits to the U.K. armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq we were told that additional equipment was required urgently, such as the helicopters,” the report reads, according to The Independent.

A spokesman for the ministry, however, was quoted by The Independent as saying: “We haven’t had any requests for additional helicopters since we went out two additional Chinooks to theater in July.”

Royal Navy left 'ill-equipped'

7.06, Wed Dec 21 2005

ITV News

 

The Royal Navy could be left seriously under-equipped because a £31bn project to replace its aircraft carriers is behind schedule, MPs have warned.

 

Britain's existing carriers - HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal - are due to be decommissioned by 2013, but the delivery date of the new carriers - HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince Of Wales - has been pushed back to at least 2016.

 

And the overall cost of the two ships is likely to climb from an original budget of £2.8bn to as much as £4.8 bn.

 

Added to this, there are fears that an order for 150 new US aircraft to be used aboard the carriers may have to be scrapped. The Pentagon is making cuts and it is feared the new Joint Strike Fighter may never be built. Emphasis added by HH

 

The Defence Select Committee says the Royal Navy could be left using outdated equipment at "substantial extra cost".

 

Committee chairman James Arbuthnot said: "The procurement of two aircraft carriers and the joint strike fighter aircraft to operate from them will provide the Royal Navy with a key capability for the future.

 

"These are two huge programmes, both in terms of their cost and their importance to the UK defence industry.

 

"On the carrier programme, there have been delays in taking the main investment decision, finalising the arrangement under which the programme is being run and making decisions on the optimum shipbuild strategy.

 

"Unfortunately, as with many other defence equipment programmes, our armed forces are likely to receive the equipment they need, and the capability they require to undertake their roles, later than originally planned.

 

"The Royal Navy may well be forced to run on less capable equipment, beyond the date when it was due to be withdrawn from service."

From Flight International

 

Breakthrough as UK signs technology transfer deal with USA to allow Lockheed Martin F-35 JSF purchase to go ahead

By Justin Wastnage

 

The UK has cleared a major hurdle over its purchase of Lockheed martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) after years of dispute over the ability to support and maintain the aircraft in the UK.

 

Coming a day before the aircraft, officially dubbed the Lightning II, is due to make its maiden flight, UK defence minister Lord Drayson signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US deputy secretary of defence Gordon England during a visit in Washington, DC today over the next phase of the project. The agreement guarantees "operational sovereignty" for the UK, Drayson says.

 

Operational sovereignty is defined as the UK having control over essential aspects of the aircraft so that it can be operated through life at the time of the UK’s choosing, says the Ministry of Defence. "We need to be able to integrate the JSF into the UK operating environment; operate, maintain, repair and upgrade the UK fleet to meet evolving through-life requirements; and certificate the aircraft as safe to fly," Drayson says.

 

Last week the House of Commons Defence Committee advised the MoD to draw up a 'plan B' with an alternate supplier of fighter jets selected in case the USA refused to concede technology transfer elemente essential to maintain its own fleet. Other partner nations have argued for such clearances and are likely to be bolstered by today's agreement, although the UK is the only Level One partner nation in the programme.

 

Lord Drayson said: “After an excellent meeting with Gordon England, I am delighted to be able to sign this MoU which will take the UK into the next phase of the JSF programme. I have always been clear that the UK would only sign if we were satisfied that we would have operational sovereignty over our aircraft. I have today received the necessary assurances from the US on technology transfer to allow me to sign the MoU.”