Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II orders “a big win” for UK aerospace industry
Following a LOI signed by the Greek government for 20 F-35 Lightning II jets (with an option for 20 more), chief executive of Lockheed Martin UK Paul Livingston explained the value the fighter programme has for the UK economy.
“The customers just keep coming back for this jet because it is an incredible piece of technology – there is no other capability like it,” he stated, with Greece the 19th customer to order the NATO-interoperable fighter. However, it’s not just “a brilliant thing to see” countries such as Greece opting for the F-35 to protect sovereign and allies’ skies, with each aircraft bought representing a huge win for the UK aerospace industry too.
An enormous amount of work on the F-35 is carried out in the UK supply chain, with the UK industry having “won its position through the ‘best athlete’ approach” (rather than a predetermined work share agreement), revealed Livingston. Up until 2046 (with potential for the programme to be extended past this date), the F-35 is estimated to add £45.2 billion of gross value to the UK economy; creating a “huge amount of jobs”.
Over the lifetime of the programme, over 20 thousand jobs will be supported within the UK supply chain, representing over 800 companies – over half of them small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). “We can continue to support UK industry, UK jobs and develop new technologies, the people and skills base that the UK wants to still have,” Livingston continued.
Looking to the future (namely, the Tempest programme) Livingston describes the initiative as “a really solid base to interoperate really closely across multiple air forces to meet global threats;” building on the F-35’s proven capability to interoperate with other types (including the Eurofighter Typhoon, F-15, F-16 or other airborne assets). “For us, a jet that has the technical flexibility to interoperate with such a wide range of platforms means that the UK and its partner nations are in a great position with this aircraft.”
