F-35 software delays leave UK buying time with US glide bombs

Security

MoD says StormBreaker will plug gap until homegrown SPEAR 3 integration lands

Britain’s F-35 fighter fleet is set to carry US-made glide
bombs as an interim measure until delayed F-35 software updates from Lockheed Martin add support for the SPEAR 3 mini-cruise missile intended for the aircraft.

The news comes in an official response from the Ministry of
Defence (MoD) to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which
published a
scathing report last year on the MoD’s management of the F-35 program.

That report noted that the stealth fighter force lacks
essential capabilities, one of which is a stand-off weapon to attack ground
targets from a safe distance. The SPEAR missile is intended to fulfil this
requirement, but although it is ready and passed
test firings in 2024, the F-35 is not currently able to operate it.

This capability should have been delivered by now through the
Block 4 software update from F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin, but this has met with a series of delays. It is now expected in 2031, five
years behind schedule.

One of the PAC’s recommendations was that the MoD should set
out in the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) how it will ensure a stand-off
capability until SPEAR 3 is fully integrated onto the aircraft.

Permanent Secretary at the MoD Jeremy Pocklington wrote back in a letter that
approval has been given to proceed with a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) procurement
of the precision-guided munition, Small Diameter Bomb (SDB II).

“This acquisition will provide the F-35 with an interim stand-off capability until the introduction of SPEAR 3 into service,” he
stated.

SDB II, designated GBU-53/B
StormBreaker in US service, is a roughly 200-pound (93 kg) bomb
with fold-out wings to allow it to glide to a target up to 69 miles (111 km)
away. It has a tri-mode seeker in the nose that lets it use radar, infrared, or laser
tracking to home in.

Other criticisms leveled at the MoD were that it lacked suitably
qualified engineers, and the department’s pattern of delaying purchases to meet
annual budget targets, which the PAC claimed has the effect of inflating total
program costs while reducing operational capacity.

Pocklington conceded that not enough spares were available to
support the F-35 squadrons aboard aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales during the
eight-month Operation Highmast deployment last year.

“The surge to 24 F-35B aircraft during Operation HIGHMAST
exceeded the Afloat Spares Pack capacity of 12. This was mitigated by
supplementing with the Deployable Spares Pack [designed for land-based
deployments] and taking additional spares from the RAF Marham Base Spares
Pack,” he wrote.

“The Lightning Force is collaborating closely with the Royal
Navy to optimise joint scheduling between home and embarked operations, given
the current limitation of two front-line squadrons. The Department also plans
to double the capacity of the Afloat Spares Pack and procure an additional
Deployable Spares Pack for land operations, subject to the DIP.”

In response, PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP
commented on the “entirely unacceptable incompetence that flies in the face of
any kind of sensible planning from the Ministry of Defence.”

“At the heart of any military planning is sound logistics.
The UK sent an aircraft carrier with 24 F-35 fighter jets on it to the Middle
East – with not enough spare parts to support them.”

“In an increasingly dangerous world, our military and the
country need more than this half-baked approach from the MoD. Our brave
fighting men and women, before being sent into potential harm’s way, must have
absolute certainty that they are well-supported in their equipment, with clear
and reliable supply lines,” he added.

Pocklington’s letter also said a short-term
reduction in the availability of F-35 aircraft was likely due to the MoD stepping
up corrosion awareness and prevention practices. While corrosion can be an issue for all
aircraft, this is especially true for those operated from carriers, and it can also
impact the F-35’s radar-defeating stealth capabilities.

The PAC report had noted that the MoD is behind in
delivering a UK Aircraft Signature Assessment Facility, needed to check that
the F-35’s stealth technology is still doing its job and has not been compromised.

On the lack of qualified engineers, Pocklington claimed that
steps were being taken to address this by increasing available posts to 168.

“The RAF has plans in place to fill its remaining
engineering posts by 2032. This date is driven by the amount of time (up to three years) it takes to make engineers fully competent on an aircraft type,” he
said, adding that “the number of personnel recruited into the Engineering
Profession, who are now in the training system, has already increased.”

However, the government’s Defence Investment
Plan (DIP) was due in autumn 2025,
but there is currently no official publication date for it, despite the fact
that many key projects are in limbo until it is delivered. ®