Current plans under the UK Joint Combat Aircraft programme are for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to replace the Harrier.

The estimated in-service date is 2012 to coincide with the first of the new UK aircraft carriers (CVF) entering service.

The US DoD placed a contract for the Lockheed Martin F-35 in October 2001.



The JSF/FJCA programme is driven by the US requirement for up to 3,000 aircraft. BAe Systems and Rolls-Royce form the principal partners of Lockheed Martin, along with the US company Northrop Grumman and General Electric. Other international parties to the programme include Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Denmark and Norway. The UK is to select either the Short Take Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) or Carrier Variant (CV) version of JSF, or possibly both. The likely date for a production contract is 2006. The joint RAF/RN requirement for the JSF is 150 aircraft with first deliveries in 2010 to meet an in-service date of 2012.. The projected UK procurement cost is approximately £4.3bn including £2bn for R&D and £2.3bn for production. By 2015 the only offensive aircraft in the RAF inventory should be the Typhoon and the JSF.

Once in service we would expect the JSF to be capable of undertaking air interdiction operations making low or medium level attacks using precision-guided, freefall or retarded bombs. Close air support missions against targets in the forward edge of the battle area and fleet air defence patrols in the area of vessels that require protection from enemy air attack.

RAF Lossiemouth will be home for the new Joint Combat Aircraft.

Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles

In July 2005 Adam Ingram (Minister of State - Armed Forces), stated that the MoD is pursuing a twin track strategy to explore the conceptual thinking and underlying technology for unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) The former involves participation in the US Joint Unmanned Combat Air System Programme concept work. The latter is focused on ensuring the UK is able to make intelligent choices with respect to UCAV design, technology development and manufacture, and is intended to enhance the UK’s industrial position to undertake either an indigenous or collaborative programme should a firm military requirement for UCAVs emerge in the future.

In addition, the UK MoD is considering a proposal from Thales UK as preferred bidder for a tactical unmanned air vehicles (UAV) system manufactured in the UK to meet the Watchkeeper requirement for an intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capability.