Home / Sources / Select Committees / Second Special Report - Aviation Procurement: Winging It?: …
Select committee: Defence Committee

Second Special Report - Aviation Procurement: Winging It?: Government Response to the Committee’s Tenth Report of Session 2022–2023

Published 14 November 2023

Defence Committee Aviation Procurement Report on parliament.uk ↗

At a glance

The government's response

This document responds to Tenth Report - Aviation Procurement: Winging it?.

This is the government's response, published 14 November 2023.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Ministry of Defence "rejects the Committee's central assertion" that the UK's air capability leaves it "dangerously exposed", while responding to individual recommendations with a mix of acknowledgement, explanation and conditional commitments.

  • On the F-35, the government will "consider again in the mid-2020s the F-35 fleet size as part of the next Strategic Defence Review", including the best variant (A or B). It acknowledges concerns on technician numbers but rejects that the shortfall was "inexcusable".
  • On Tranche 1 Typhoons, it does not support mothballing: retaining them would need investment "in excess of £300 million (and potentially much more)" and would preclude planned component harvesting.
  • On Wedgetail, it "accept[s] there is some increased risk" to sovereign and NATO commitments from cutting the fleet from five to three aircraft, but says this was factored in. It will "keep decisions on the appropriate size of our force under review".
  • On reporting, it "would be happy to provide" updates on A400M availability and pilot holding numbers "if the committee would find such an update useful". It does not commit to a full review of flying training contracts, citing "limited benefit", but is conducting a "targeted review" of incentive structures.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

Sources