Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 8
8
F-35 Full Operating Capability declaration based on military judgement and factual assessment.
Conclusion
The Department told us that its criteria for declaring FOC are based on a combination of hard facts and applied military judgement. In forming its view, it told us that it had considered FOC through four distinct 5 C&AG’s Report, para 9 6 Q 91 7 C&AG’s Report, para 1.19 8 Qq 87, 91; C&AG’s Report para 1.10 9 Q 118 10 C&AG’s Report, para 3 11 C&AG’s Report, paras 11, 1.19, 1.21 7 lenses: the state of the programme; the operational capability available; other defence lines of development including personnel, infrastructure, organisation and doctrine; and the contractual and legal situation.12 The Department told us that the decision to declare FOC is ultimately taken by the Chief of the Air Staff following a recommendation from the F-35 programme Senior Responsible Owner which is cleared through the chain of command.13
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 ↗