The UK Minister for Defence Procurement and Business, Maria Eagle, confirmed that the Royal Air Pressure (RAF) will lean on its allies for the air-to-air refuelling of its future F-35A jets in a parliamentary written response on 4 July 2025.
Throughout the Nato Summit within the Hague final month, the federal government introduced the deliberate acquisition of 12 F-35A standard take-off and touchdown plane in its subsequent tranche of F-35 plane, as a substitute of the deliberate quick take-off and vertical touchdown B variant.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) emphasised that the forthcoming A variant gives a nuclear role that the RAF haven’t had since 1998.
“Now we have longstanding reciprocal preparations to make use of allies air-to-air refuelling assist when required, simply as our Voyagers additionally assist refuelling of different allies’ jets,” Eagle relayed.
Nonetheless, not too long ago, two individuals gained entry to the UK’s largest airbase, RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, and damaged two Voyager tankers with paint and crowbars in condemnation of the function of the bottom in aiding Israeli operations in and over the Gaza Strip.
In earlier years, nonetheless, Voyager has supplied air-to-air refuelling (AAR) on a world scale throughout train Mobility Guardian 23. In 2023, the plane deployed to Eilson airbase in Alaska, and from there proceeded to refuel an A400M Atlas on path to Guam, a US Pacific Ocean territory.
The F-35A platform is simply appropriate with a increase system, whereas Voyager makes use of the probe-and-drogue system completely.
Presently, there are 37 F-35B plane collectively operated by the RAF and Royal Navy. The fleet relies at RAF Marham in Norfolk. Whereas the F-35A can’t be refuelled by Voyager, the tanker is appropriate with F-35B.
In the meantime, European international locations are more and more choosing the Multi-Role Transport Tanker (MRTT) that are usually able to offering each refuelling methods. Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the UK – whose Voyager fleet is an alternate kind of MRTT – function them.
With out AAR assist, F-35As have a transit distance of 1,200 nautical miles (or 2,200 kilometres) whereas the F-35B can solely attain 900 nautical miles based on an RAF comparison.
Notably, each ranges fall properly in need of the 4,812km distance between Marham and RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
This Mediterranean airbase is a vital platform from which the service can conduct stand-off strikes within the Close to East. Whereas there the 903 Expeditionary Wing, comprising Hurricane plane, relies at Akrotiri it might not be doable to deploy F-35As to the bottom with out allied tankers alongside the way in which.
Fears Hurricane could go away service
With an order for F-35As, no new orders for the Eurofighter Hurricane, and a lack of government transparency about its procurement plans, this mixture of things have given rise to fears that the UK could part out its legacy Hurricane fleet.
GlobalData intelligence signifies that there are 137 Eurofighter plane in service at current.
The influential British union, Unite, have repeatedly expressed concern that UK jobs will take a success ought to the F-35A change the Hurricane fully. Unite contest MoD figures of the UK contribution to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which they declare is round 3% fairly than the 15% touted by authorities officers.
Whereas the MoD haven’t confirmed this supposed transition, the division stays tight-lipped about its procurement plans till the Defence Funding Plan is revealed within the autumn. This comes after a ten-month wait, when such particulars had been anticipated within the Strategic Defence Review which was launched initially of June.
Furthermore, Unite have these days revealed that the Hurricane manufacturing line at Warton, Lancashire has “floor to a halt”, with BAE Programs dispersing the workforce throughout varied firm factories and RAF bases across the nation since there are not any additional home or export orders for the Hurricane.
Whereas Unite’s normal secretary, Sharon Graham, predicts “the ending of the Hurricane remaining meeting manufacturing at Warton”, Airforce Expertise contacted BAE Programs for his or her perspective on the ostensible transition to the American multirole fighter.
“We’re skilled at responding to the altering calls for of the Hurricane programme to make sure we retain our specialist abilities,” a spokesperson stated.
“The sturdy degree of curiosity, dedication and funding within the plane from present and potential clients provides us confidence that Hurricane manufacturing within the UK will take us into the following decade – we’re working onerous to safe these orders…”
