Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 58
58
Accepted
RAF faces multiple capability shortfalls: combat aircraft, transport, pilot numbers, and maritime patrol.
Conclusion
The Human Security Centre again produced a list of outstanding or near-future capability, resource and readiness shortfalls which the RAF faces: • A shortfall in combat aircraft numbers. The retirement of 30 Tranche 1 Typhoon aircraft in 2025 (with the majority of their airframe lives remaining) will leave only 107 Typhoons in service. 48 F-35B aircraft should be delivered by the end of 2025,115 but these will be jointly operated by the Royal Navy and will have a commitment to carrier operations. • There is also a shortfall in fixed-wing transport aircraft numbers and capabilities caused by the retirement of the C-130J Hercules116 with plans to procure greater numbers of the A400M judged by the National Audit Office to be unaffordable. • Delays in the procurement of 14 new model Chinook helicopters with extended ranges have occurred due to budget shortfalls. The new Chinooks are intended to replace older model Chinooks but the new model’s increased range could help cover some tasks previously assigned to the C-130J fleet and in supporting the Persistent Engagement strategy. • There has been a lack of a dedicated Suppression of Enemy Air Defence/ Destruction of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD/DEAD) capability since the RAF retired the Air-Launched Anti-Radiation Missile (ALARM) in 2013. The planned introduction by the UK of the SPEAR 3 missile with a multi-mode seeker and a range of around 80 miles could—particularly if used in conjunction with the F-35B’s electronic warfare system—provide a new SEAD/DEAD capability. • Failures in the pilot training system have led to shortfalls in pilot numbers. • There are insufficient numbers of Maritime Patrol Aircraft and Wedgetail AEW1 airborne early warning and control aircraft. 112 Combined Air Operations Centres—multinational headquarters responsible for planning, directing, tasking, coordinating, supervising and supporting air operations. 113 Q101 114 Q11 115 Additional orders are planned to bring the F-35B fleet size to 74 and pla
Government Response Summary
The government explains that aircraft are retired when no longer cost-effective to maintain due to obsolescence or compliance costs, and that components from retired aircraft are used to maintain the operational fleet, which applies to Hawk and Typhoon Tranche 1.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Aircraft are generally retired when it is no longer cost effective to maintain them, due to either significant obsolescence or regulatory compliance costs, or the amount of work which would be required to extend structural airframe life (which may indeed not be possible). Frequently, ongoing maintenance of the remaining fleet is dependent upon the ‘reduce to produce’ premise, wherein components are removed from retired aircraft to maintain the operational fleet: this is the case for both Hawk and Typhoon Tranche 1.