Tri-Service
MoD Announces £167m Investment Into F-35B's Future Home
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced contracts worth £167 million to upgrade and build new facilities at RAF Marham, the future home of the UK’s F-35B Lightning II squadrons.
The contracts, which the MoD says will create 300 new jobs, will allow for the addition of maintenance, training and logistics facilities to the station in East Anglia, all of which will be dedicated to the F-35B.
What two of the facilities being built could look like
It comes after the UK reached a milestone in its F-35 programme with the completion of the 10th aft – or rear – section for its UK’s fleet.
Last week, meanwhile, Air Commodore H Smyth became the Royal Air Force's first Lightning Force Commander, at RAF Marham.
How the new maintenance and finish facility is expected to look
£25m of the total figure spent on the upgrade is going towards demolition and cabling works at the Norfolk site.
This will then be followed by £142 million of work between Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and Lockheed Martin UK in constructing three new buildings.
They'll keep the new aircraft ready for service, provide training facilities for pilots and ground crew and enable centralised management of the UK’s whole F-35B fleet. DE&S Chief Executive Officer Tony Douglas said:
“These facilities are critical to the F-35B Lightning II programme, which is in turn vital to the future capability of the UK’s Armed Forces."
"The cutting edge technology of these aircraft, supported by world-class facilities at RAF Marham, will ensure we have a battle-winning fleet of jets deployable anywhere in the world.”
The MoD says approximately 300 people will be employed on the construction works, which will be managed by sub-contractors BAE Systems. It added that the buildings will become a place of work for around 250 military and civilian staff when they open in 2018.
Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon said:
"The F-35 is the most advanced combat aircraft in the world. Whether operating from land or our two new aircraft carriers, they will ensure we have a formidable fighting force."
"They are part of our plan for stronger and better defence, backed by a budget that will this week rise for the first time in six years, and keep rising until the end of the decade."
It comes after it was announced that modifications should be completed this year which will make the F-35 Lightning II ejection system safe for lighter pilots.
Tests had revealed that firing the Mk.16 Martin Baker ejector seat risked breaking the necks of pilots under 199lbs (14 stone) if they had to bail out at low speed.
It's not the first time the F-35 has come in for criticism. In summer last year it was alleged to have lost a dogfight to a jet from the 1970s, although its manufacturer and the US military argued that it wasn't a fair test due to the plane's stealth technology not having been fitted.
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