Typhoon fighter jet production is being curtailed in Britain
Kyiv • UNN
The production of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets in the United Kingdom has practically ceased due to a lack of new orders. This raises concerns about the loss of critical aerospace industry skills and affects the country's participation in the Global Combat Air Programme.
British production of Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft has virtually stopped due to a lack of new orders. This has raised fears about the loss of critically important aerospace industry skills in the UK. This is reported by UNN with reference to the Financial Times (FT).
Details
It is noted that Typhoon fighters have been assembled for decades at the large BAE Systems plant in Warton, Lancashire. However, work on the final assembly line has almost stopped, as the company prepares to deliver the last aircraft under the £5 billion contract with Qatar, signed back in 2017.
There is one jet in the hangar, but it is essentially waiting for a few parts and painting. As for the main assembly, it is complete, and no workers are working on it.
According to FT, the UK government has not placed orders for new aircraft since 2009, and further export orders from Saudi Arabia and Qatar have not yet been agreed upon.
If new orders are not secured in the near future, there could be a loss of important industrial skills needed to build next-generation fighters as part of the UK's participation in the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
Sharon Graham, General Secretary of the Unite union, stated that BAE workers and the defense industry across the United Kingdom "will be asking how a government that promises to turn defense spending into 'British growth, British jobs, British skills, British innovation' could allow this to happen."
I have repeatedly told government ministers how great the risk is to jobs, skills, and national security if we stop assembling our own fighters.
Typhoon aircraft are built by a pan-European consortium, which includes BAE, Airbus, and Leonardo, with each company manufacturing different parts for each aircraft. They also operate a final assembly line in each partner country - when a partner country orders aircraft or leads an export deal, it assembles the aircraft.
BAE still builds front fuselages for Typhoons ordered by other countries, but then they are sent to Europe for final assembly.
The recent decision by the British government to purchase American-made F-35 fighters, rather than committing to a new order for the most advanced Typhoons, has reignited discussions about the country's defense priorities, the publication states.
Although the UK has committed to modernizing its current Typhoon aircraft, including installing new radar, it is the only country in the consortium that has not placed an order for the latest model.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey last week declined to comment on the prospect of a new order, but stated that the recent strategic defense review confirmed the importance of Typhoon aircraft and the need for modernization.
Healey also informed the defense committee that the UK expects to acquire a batch of 27 F-35 fighters, which will begin arriving by the end of the decade, 15 of which will be F-35B modifications, meaning suitable for carrier-based operations. The other 12 will be F-35A modifications with the ability to carry tactical nuclear bombs.
Industry leaders claim that negotiations for new export orders for Typhoons from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are progressing.
The UK Ministry of Defence states that the Typhoon will remain "the cornerstone of UK air defense until at least the 2040s." At the same time, future investments in the Typhoon "depend on the Defence Investment Plan, which will be published later this year."
Recall
The UK stated that all members of the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium support the sale of fighters to Turkey, overcoming Germany's previous blocking. This increases the prospects for the deal, negotiations for which have lasted for years.