Britain lacks stealth fighters to fight

The British Parliament said the British Air Force does not have enough F-35B fighters for large-scale conflicts and proposed to quickly increase the number in service.

According to a report recently published by the British Parliamentary Defence Committee, the UK's air force needs a large and balanced fleet to carry out missions such as ensuring air defence capabilities, projecting global power, providing humanitarian aid or conducting attack operations.

The biggest concern of the 10 British MPs who contributed to the report was the rapid decline in the number of aircraft currently in service with the air force since the Cold War.

Many air forces are cutting fleet sizes as they replace older aircraft with newer models, but the UK's reduction is considered much higher than that of France, Germany or Italy.

“Large numbers do not guarantee victory in conflicts,” the report said, but noted that even the most advanced aircraft “risk large losses in serious conflict, which would rapidly decimate the UK’s already shrinking air force.”

British F-35B fighter jets land on the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in October 2019. Photo: RAF

"Serious questions arise as to whether the UK's already reduced fighter fleet can successfully deter and defend against an enemy attack," the report said. " The Ministry of Defence and the Air Force must urgently address this undersized operational force."

The backbone of the British fighter fleet is the F-35B. The UK originally planned to buy 150 F-35Bs, but this was later reduced to 138. The country has taken delivery of 48 and has ordered 27 more, but it is unclear whether it will buy more of the US-made stealth fighter.

Participants in a hearing before the British Parliamentary Defence Committee explained that maintenance issues have made it much harder to expand the F-35B fleet than planned, but the committee found that explanation unsatisfactory.

Each of the new British Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers will be able to carry 36 F-35B fighters. In theory, they could carry the entire fleet of F-35Bs that the UK currently operates. However, the RAF would then be without the stealth fighters it needs for its own missions.

Another problem that arises is that the British F-35B will perform reconnaissance, attack, electronic warfare or airspace control missions, when this fighter model cannot perform all of the above missions at the same time.

British F-35 fighter jets participate in exercises with the US Air Force in September 2019. Photo: USAF

To solve the problem, the simplest solution is for Britain to buy F-35B fighter jets. The British Parliamentary Defence Committee notes that each F-35B costs $101 million, but maintenance costs are another matter. "The price of the aircraft may have come down, but maintenance costs remain unacceptably high," the agency said.

The committee found that the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to support fighters was a cost-effective way to increase the size of the combat force. Under this scenario, each expensive manned fighter would fly alongside a support jet UAV that may be less capable, but would be available in large numbers and would be able to sacrifice itself if necessary.

Britain is developing a combat drone called the New Affordable Light Combat Aircraft (LANCA), but the status and progress of this project is unclear. London suspended the Mosquito combat drone project, which is linked to LANCA, a year before the aircraft was due to take flight.

Nguyen Tien (According to Forbes )

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