Securing Britain’s combat air future

Securing Britain’s combat air future

Britain’s combat air force is at a turning point. The National Audit Office’s report on the UK’s F-35 programme confirms what many in defence and industry already fear: years of delay, indecision and ambiguous planning have left the RAF and Royal Navy with shrinking fast jet mass, overstretched platforms, and no clear path through the next decade. This failure has roots in the 2021 Integrated Review and its 2023 refresh. These were meant to be s…