RAF jets despatched to Middle East ‘with out sufficient spare elements’ as WW3 fears skyrocket
The MoD has been slammed for ‘unacceptable incompetence’ after sending 24 F-35 stealth jets to the Middle East with only enough spare parts to support 12
The MoD has been slammed after sending F-35 stealth jets to the Middle East without enough spare parts(Image: UK MOD Crown copyright)
Britain’s cutting-edge stealth jets were sent into a potential Middle East powder keg without enough spare parts to keep them flying, a damning report has revealed. Chilling world war fears have intensified after it emerged that a Royal Navy aircraft carrier was sent into the region with double the amount of F-35B lightning jets it actually had the supplies to maintain.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been blasted for its “half-baked approach” and “entirely unacceptable incompetence” by furious politicians. A letter from MoD Permanent Secretary Jeremy Pocklington exposed how 24 of the high-tech, missile-carrying warplanes were crammed onto a Queen Elizabeth-class carrier for Operation HIGHMAST.
The spare parts supplies onboard were only equipped to look after 12 aircraft, the UK Defence Journal reports. Military bosses were forced to desperately scramble supplies from RAF Marham in Norfolk and raid other emergency stockpiles just to keep the £100million jets in the air.
The blunder triggered a fierce backlash from Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chair, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.
He said: “At the heart of any military planning is sound logistics. The UK sent an aircraft carrier with 24 F-35 fighter jets on it to the Middle East – with not enough spare parts to support them.
“Twelve aircraft spare parts packs were sent to service twenty-four aircraft, and it is no surprise that as a result spares had to be shipped out from RAF Marham to make up the difference.”
He warned that with global tensions boiling over, British forces cannot be left vulnerable by top brass.
Sir Geoffrey said: “In an increasingly dangerous world, our military and the country need more than this half-baked approach from the MoD.
“Our brave fighting men and women, before being sent into potential harm’s way, must have absolute certainty that they are well-supported in their equipment, with clear and reliable supply lines.
“But this correspondence shows an entirely unacceptable incompetence that flies in the face of any kind of sensible planning from the Ministry of Defence.”
The fallout from the deployment has left the UK’s fleet facing a hangover of maintenance woes. The MoD confessed that hitches with the global supply chain mean hitting future targets is unlikely.
To make matters worse, the multi-million-pound jets are suffering from corrosion caused by salty sea air.
Engineers are now battling a massive maintenance backlog to clear the issue, causing a short-term reduction in the number of jets ready to fight.
The military is also facing a crippling crisis in manpower. The Lightning Force is currently missing a quarter of its required engineers because RAF Marham is viewed as a “less preferred posting location.”
The RAF admitted it will take until 2032 just to get enough fully trained mechanics on the base.
The MoD also had to rapidly buy US bombs as a stop-gap measure to ensure the F-35s have proper missile capabilities before the long-delayed British SPEAR-3 cruise missiles are finally ready.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
