Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
F-35 Full Operating Capability repeatedly delayed, with sustainability issues unresolved.
Conclusion
The Department expects to declare Full Operating Capability (FOC) by the end of 2025. In its 2018 Concept of Use document the Department had expected to declare FOC by the end of 2023 based on two frontline squadrons of 12 aircraft and a training squadron at full capacity. It subsequently delayed this to April 2025, then to December 2025, and introduced a more qualitative assessment of FOC. The Department expects to evidence FOC in part by deploying two full squadrons during the 2025 Carrier Strike Group (CSG) deployment. However, the National Audit Office’s report notes that “even if the MoD meets its FOC criteria, it will not yet have a force that can deploy sustainably.”11
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 19 January 2026. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document ↗