No F-35 funding gap talks between MoD and Lockheed Martin UK
Despite discussions between the UK MoD and Lockheed Martin UK to assess driving costs of the F-35B programme down, the two have not talked about how to resolve a multibillion pound funding gap troubling acquisition plans.
The UK MoD and Lockheed Martin UK have not spoken about how to bridge a £7.9 billion ($10.7 billion) funding gap for the 48 F-35B fighter jets currently on contract and additional aircraft to be bought in the future.
The funding black hole was originally identified by the Public Accounts Committee in a November 2020 report into the UK’s carrier strike capabilities, with the government body also questioning how many F-35s the MoD can afford.
‘We haven’t had dialogue in terms of [the MoD saying] Lockheed Martin come and show me how you can get £7 billion out of the
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