Recommendations & Conclusions
8 items
3
Conclusion
51st Report - The UK’s F-35 stealth fig…
Rejected
The F-35 programme faces an unacceptable shortage of several types of personnel, including engineers, cyber specialists, pilots and qualified flying instructors. The Department acknowledges that there are significant shortages of engineers in the F-35 programme, and that this is an impediment to operating the aircraft more often. This shortage reflects …
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The F-35 programme faces an unacceptable shortage of several types of personnel, including engineers, cyber specialists, pilots and qualified flying instructors. The Department acknowledges that there are significant shortages of engineers in the F-35 programme, and that this is an impediment to operating the aircraft more often. This shortage reflects a shortage of engineers across the armed forces, which the Department is attempting to tackle with retention bonuses and increased capacity to train new recruits. However, the Department accepts that for F-35s this shortage had been exacerbated by its miscalculation of how many engineers are needed per aircraft. Even now that this mistake has been identified and funding provided for the 168 additional posts required, representing a 20% increase, it will take several years to resolve the shortage. The Department also acknowledges that there are significant shortages in other roles including cyber specialists, pilots and flying instructors. In 2025 only 5 out of 16 flying instructor posts were filled. recommendation The Department should produce a more radical plan to recruit and retain the highly skilled personnel necessary to work on and operate the F-35. The plan should include reference to accommodation as well as pay and other benefits that together provide an attractive offer over the long term.
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Government response AI summary
The government rejected the recommendation for a specific F-35 workforce plan, stating it will address recruitment and retention challenges through the ongoing RAF People Campaign and by continuing existing initiatives like financial incentives and recruitment policy adjustments.
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HM Treasury
6
Conclusion
51st Report - The UK’s F-35 stealth fig…
Rejected
The Department has not set out its preferred mix of F-35As and Bs, nor forecast the costs of introducing the F-35As in their nuclear weapons role. The 48 aircraft that the Department has contracted for so far are all F-35Bs, which can be flown from land or aircraft carriers. In …
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The Department has not set out its preferred mix of F-35As and Bs, nor forecast the costs of introducing the F-35As in their nuclear weapons role. The 48 aircraft that the Department has contracted for so far are all F-35Bs, which can be flown from land or aircraft carriers. In June 2025 the Department announced that in its next phase of procurement it intended to buy 12 F-35As alongside 15 F-35Bs. The Department told us that the F35As would both act as training aircraft, where its additional range will be valuable in enabling longer training flights, and join the NATO dual capable aircraft nuclear mission. Only the F-35A variant can carry nuclear weapons. The Department acknowledged that becoming certified for the NATO nuclear mission will add new requirements to training, personnel and possibly infrastructure. The Department is speaking to other nations in the NATO mission about requirements for certification. This work is at an early stage and the Department did not provide any indication of forecast costs. recommendation The Department should update the committee in six months on what it expects the additional whole-life costs of operating Dual Capable Aircraft will be, and how long it will take to prepare the necessary arrangements. 5 1 F-35 capability requirements Introduction
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Government response AI summary
The government rejected the recommendation to provide an update on additional whole-life costs and timescales for operating Dual Capable Aircraft, stating that this information is classified Secret but offered a classified briefing to the Committee.
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HM Treasury
15
Recommendation
51st Report - The UK’s F-35 stealth fig…
Rejected
The F-35 programme suffers from personnel shortages across a range of occupations. A 2024 review of the programme, by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA, formerly the Infrastructure and Projects Authority), stated that shortages of suitably qualified engineers represented the biggest threat to delivering F-35 capability. These shortages …
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The F-35 programme suffers from personnel shortages across a range of occupations. A 2024 review of the programme, by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA, formerly the Infrastructure and Projects Authority), stated that shortages of suitably qualified engineers represented the biggest threat to delivering F-35 capability. These shortages have been exacerbated by the Department miscalculating how many engineers were needed per aircraft because it failed to account for staff taking leave and performing other tasks including guard duties.33 The National Audit Office report also found that the programme is short of cyber specialists, pilots and qualified flying instructors. In 2025 the programme only had five full-time flying instructors compared to its target of 16.34
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to produce a plan specifically focused on the F-35 workforce, and will address the issue through the ongoing RAF People Campaign.
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HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
51st Report - The UK’s F-35 stealth fig…
Rejected
The Department acknowledged that the shortages across all these roles were very important, with the Chief of the Defence Staff stating that personnel had been one of his top two priorities in his previous role as Chief of the Air Staff. The Department told us that the training time required …
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The Department acknowledged that the shortages across all these roles were very important, with the Chief of the Defence Staff stating that personnel had been one of his top two priorities in his previous role as Chief of the Air Staff. The Department told us that the training time required for engineers meant that it would take three or four years before the programme had the required numbers.35 This includes recruiting the 168 additional engineers—a 20% increase—required to address the shortage caused by miscalculating the number of engineers required per aircraft. The Department noted that the shortage of engineers is a problem that affects the whole of the armed forces.36
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to produce a plan specifically focused on the F-35 workforce, and will address the issue through the ongoing RAF People Campaign.
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HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
51st Report - The UK’s F-35 stealth fig…
Rejected
The Department told us that it has plans in place to fix its recruitment and retention problems. The Department also told us that it has increased its recruitment of engineers significantly in the last two years. It has offered joining bonuses for certain professions and has increased the capacity of …
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The Department told us that it has plans in place to fix its recruitment and retention problems. The Department also told us that it has increased its recruitment of engineers significantly in the last two years. It has offered joining bonuses for certain professions and has increased the capacity of its technical training skills to enable more recruits to be trained more quickly. 33 C&AG’s report, paras 2.3-2.4 34 C&AG’s report, paras 2.6-2.7 35 Q 101 36 Qq 101-102 11 To improve retention the Department offered a financial retention incentive for engineers, although this did not cover all supervisor grades where there have been especially acute shortages. The rate at which staff are leaving the armed forces, which was extremely high in 2022, has now stabilised at or below historic norms. However, the Department acknowledges that it takes time to adequately replace those experienced staff.37 Accommodation
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to produce a plan specifically focused on the F-35 workforce, and will instead address recruitment and retention challenges through the ongoing RAF People Campaign. They also outlined a range of measures already introduced to address immediate pressures, particularly for …
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HM Treasury
28
Conclusion
51st Report - The UK’s F-35 stealth fig…
Rejected
The Department is deciding what mix of the two F-35 variants to buy in its procurement process. In Phase 1 the UK has contracted for 48 F-35Bs, which can fly from land bases and aircraft carriers. In June 2025 the Department announced its intention to buy 12 F35As, which cannot …
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The Department is deciding what mix of the two F-35 variants to buy in its procurement process. In Phase 1 the UK has contracted for 48 F-35Bs, which can fly from land bases and aircraft carriers. In June 2025 the Department announced its intention to buy 12 F35As, which cannot fly from aircraft carriers, but which can carry nuclear weapons, as part of its next phase of 27 aircraft.60 The Department told us that it has not yet decided which variants to buy beyond the next procurement phase.61 That decision will be considered in future defence strategic reviews and investment plans.62
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Costs and timescales associated with the UK's Dual Capable Aircraft nuclear mission are classified Secret.
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HM Treasury
29
Conclusion
51st Report - The UK’s F-35 stealth fig…
Rejected
The Department told us why it had decided to purchase some A variants. The A variant can fly further for longer than the B variant, because it does not have the weight limitations that come with the ability of the B variant to do short take-off and landing on aircraft …
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The Department told us why it had decided to purchase some A variants. The A variant can fly further for longer than the B variant, because it does not have the weight limitations that come with the ability of the B variant to do short take-off and landing on aircraft carriers and can carry extra fuel. The Department told us that the A variants will be routinely used on the training squadron, meaning that more training can be completed on each sortie and therefore pilots can be trained more quickly. The Department also noted that the dual nuclear weapons capability of the A variant will enable the UK to contribute to the NATO nuclear mission.63 The Department also told us that the A variant is 20% to 25% cheaper than the B variant, and slightly cheaper to support.64
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Costs and timescales associated with the UK's Dual Capable Aircraft nuclear mission are classified Secret.
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HM Treasury
30
Conclusion
51st Report - The UK’s F-35 stealth fig…
Rejected
The Department explained that it is starting to understand the practical requirements of becoming certified for the NATO nuclear mission. The Department needs to meet standards for handling, loading and using nuclear weapons. These standards are set by the United States since it provides the weapons, and the Department is …
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The Department explained that it is starting to understand the practical requirements of becoming certified for the NATO nuclear mission. The Department needs to meet standards for handling, loading and using nuclear weapons. These standards are set by the United States since it provides the weapons, and the Department is learning from other nations that have been, or are becoming, certified. The Department told us that certification covers ground crew, pilots, infrastructure and the aircraft itself. It expects that there will be a requirement for additional training and potentially for additional personnel as well, although it does not expect to need significant additional infrastructure.65 We believe it is a reasonable assumption that this may end up proving more expensive. 60 C&AG’s Report, paras 2, 6 61 Q 117 62 Q 91 63 Q 92 64 Q 97 65 Q 96 16
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation, but offers a briefing at Secret level following the Defence Investment Plan publication.
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HM Treasury