Abandoned plans to switch the fighter aircraft for the Royal Navy’s new carriers will cost taxpayers £74 million, according to a public spending watchdog.
Last May, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond decided to revert to plans by the former Labour government to acquire the jump jet version of the US-built F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Under plans set out in the 2010 strategic defence and security review, the coalition had intended to switch to the more capable F-35C carrier variant of the aircraft even though it meant mothballing one of the two carriers on grounds of affordability but the costs of fitting the necessary catapults and arrester gear, “cats and traps”, had more than doubled to £2 billion.
Although the department “acted quickly” once it had realised the problems with switching, the decision made in the defence review was based on “immature data and flawed assumptions”, and the subsequent work cost about £74m, the National Audit Office said.
Successful delivery of the scheme now will require the MoD to “manage significant affordability and technical risks”, its report on the Carrier Strike programme warned.
