F-35 B Lightning jets from 617 Squadron lined up on HMS Prince of Wales flight deck at sunrise during Exercise Nordic Response 24. Credit: UK MoD/Crown copyright

The UK is expected to receive another batch of three F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters before the end of 2024, as the programme moves towards the 50% delivery mark for the initial commitment for 74 aircraft.

On 8 October 2024, Luke Pollard, UK Minister for the Armed Forces, stated that “against the current schedule”, it was projected by the end of the calendar year the UK will have taken ownership of 37 F-35B fighters.

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Currently, the UK has received 34 fighters, operated by the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) 617 Squadron and the Royal Navy’s (RN) 809 Naval Air Squadron. A joint RAF/RN Operational Conversion Unit, 207 Squadron, also assists the joint F-35B force.

In October 2024 the first F-35Bs assigned to 809 Naval Air Squadron embarked on the RN aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales in exercises in UK waters, the first time in nearly 15 years that an RN fighter has flown from an RN flattop.

A single UK F-35B fighter crashed into the Mediterranean Sea during takeoff from the sister ship of HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Queen Elizabeth, during the previous Carrier Strike Group operations in 2021.

The F-35B fighter is able to land vertically, offering a higher sortie rate than conventionally naval fighter recovery. Credit: UK MoD/Crown copyright

While the aircraft wreck was recovered by Western forces following an international scramble for its secrets, with Russia keen to get its hands on the salvage, it was unable to be returned to service.  

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HMS Prince of Wales will host a joint RAF/RN F-35B force in 2025 in a deployment expected to head through the Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, and into the Asia-Pacific region.

An under-strength 617 Squadron deployed onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2021 for the inaugural deployment of the Royal Navy’s new carrier, with the air wing augmented by F-35Bs from the US Marine Corps.

F-35: the only game in Nato’s fighter town

As the sole tier one partner to the US-led F-35 programme, the UK has been closely aligned with the build effort and has a commitment to acquire at least 74 of the aircraft, although this figure has dipped significantly from the 138 airframes set as the initial upper limit.

The previous Conservative government stated in 2022 that Full Operating Capability (FOC) for the UK F-35B force was expected in 2025, when both squadrons would be able to operational deploy. In 2021, senior defence officials speaking at the DSEI show in London stated that 2023 was the planned FOC target.

The F-35 has been widely adopted by Nato countries and US allies around the world, having never lost a competition in which it was permitted to enter. Recent wins include Finland, Switzerland, and Germany, which will join other current or planned European operators including Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Poland.