Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
16
The Department said that if it is to deploy one carrier at a time it...
Conclusion
The Department said that if it is to deploy one carrier at a time it would not need all 138 aircraft. It acknowledged, however, that it will need more than 48 Lightning II jets to sustain Carrier Strike operations through to the 2050s and beyond.41 It told us that the decision about how many more jets it would need had not yet been made.42 The Department is currently debating its future requirement for Lightning II numbers as part of its wider Air Combat Strategy. This debate revolves around its plans across all future air-to-air and air-to-surface combat operations and the replacement of Typhoon from the 2030s. It told us that un-crewed autonomous aircraft working alongside crewed aircraft will be part of its solution, and that a key part of the future combat air programme was understanding the right mix of planes, bearing in mind evolving technologies.43 Nevertheless, the Department was certain that the future combat air system, no matter how it is designed, would be a very expensive part of defence spending.44
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
4a: PAC recommendation: It should provide the Committee with a full and detailed breakdown of Lightning II related expenditure to date, the approved budget and the forecast whole life costs of the Programme. 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: January 2021 4.2 The department has arranged for a private briefing session on 20 January 2021 to discuss Lightning II related expenditure. To note: The briefing date has been agreed with the Committee, however, this does not meet the recommendation timeline (within one month). 4.3 The briefing will cover the Whole Life Costs (WLC) of the 48 F-35 aircraft that the department is currently committed to purchase and includes the current programme approval levels. The procurement strategy for Lightning II is one of incremental acquisition and was approved at Main Gate 2 in 2006. This strategy tied the UK to a through-life collaborative partnership within the Joint Strike Fighter Programme, using the governance and procurement processes set out in the Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development memorandum of understanding. 4.4 The WLC model considers all the acquisition phases from Lightning inception to aircraft disposal and are based upon the current mandate for 48 F-35Bs with an out of service date of 2048. The costs do not include operating costs such as service delivered manpower, fuel and weapons expenditure that are covered under separate Top-Level Budgets.