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Meanwhile, the government has just committed £650 million ($880 million) to upgrade the RAF’s fleet of Typhoon fighter jets, as some ask whether more of these should be procured instead of the troublesome F-35 stealth aircraft.
About £453 million ($612 million) is going on fitting European common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 kit [PDF]. This is said to be able to concurrently detect, identify, and track multiple targets in the air and on the ground, while providing a high-powered jamming capability in contested environments.
Another £205 million ($277 million) is going on specialist engineering support by QinetiQ to help upgrade the Typhoon’s weapon systems,the MoD says.
But both Turkey and Germany recently placed orders for 20 new-build Typhoons apiece, in the latter case to replace aging Tornado aircraft. At the time, MPs questioned in Parliament why the UK isn’t buying any more itselfespecially as the Royal Air Force (RAF) has retired many of its oldest tranche 1 models, leaving it with about 107 Typhoons in service.
Rather, the government last year decided to buy 12 F-35A fighters capable of carrying nuclear weaponsdespite the fact these can’t be refueled by the RAF’s own tankers and the nukes they would carry are owned by the US.
The RAF and the Royal Navy also operate the F-35B version of the jet, as a replacement for the Harrier in the Navy’s case, and the Tornado in RAF service.
Pressure will likely grow for the government to change its mind on a Typhoon purchase,especially considering recent events that have led many to question whether the US can be considered a reliable partner.
Spain last year cancelled plans to buy the F-35opting for the Typhoon instead.
In addition, the maker of the F-35, Lockheed Martin, has dragged its heels on supporting UK weapons such as the Spear and Meteor missiles, a capability