An F-35 Lightning II on the HMS Queen Elizabeth last December. Britain has agreed to buy 48 by 2025Britain could buy only half its target of 138 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, according to sources close to the government’s defence review. Britain has ordered the short take-off and vertical landing variant of the jet, which is designed to fly from aircraft carriers. The Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class carriers are expected to deploy with between 12 and 36 F-35s on board, depending on the operation. A wider British aspiration to buy 138 of the aircraft over the lifespan of the US-led programme is seen as unlikely to be fulfilled, defence sources said.

Source: The Times August 25, 2020 23:10 UTC