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jmetaB030aaa59f7f6070501e29740629567dfedac3a31603de0b569b5089d90879973b2@df9fe59142e8384a6970c15c298c7eb05eefe661be8e6833cafbf051e80bfbd1rss.itemmetarss.netMå<item><description><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/keir-starmer-tempest-fighter-jet-programme-z0vckm5fb"><img src="https://www.thetimes.com/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Faa794668-4087-477f-8b57-fbb83348bf6d.jpg?crop=1600%2C900%2C0%2C0&resize=1200" /></a><div><div><p>Sir Keir Starmer has refused to confirm the £12 billion Tempest programme will </p><p>go ahead as doubts grow over Britain’s continued participation in UK, Italian and Japanese plans to build a sixth-generation fighter jet.</p><p>Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow, where the first realistic model of the plane is set to be unveiled, the prime minister hailed the programme as “important”. But he refused to commit to its continued funding after The Times revealed last week it <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/article/raf-to-unveil-model-of-tempest-the-next-generation-fighter-jet-tbbrv3vrr">could be axed</a> as part of Labour’s defence review.</p><div><div><div><div><div><div><img src="https://www.thetimes.com/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Fea12bcf1-2a7b-4098-87d2-e7a3498e7eb0.jpg?crop=4241%2C2827%2C380%2C0" /></div></div></div><div><div><div><div><div>The Tempest will be a sixth-generation fighter jet and is expected to be ready in the 2030s</div><div>ANDREW MCCAREN FOR THE TIMES</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p>Asked to confirm that Britain would go ahead with plans to build a supersonic stealth fighter alongside Japan and Italy, Starmer told gathered figures from the defence industry: “It is an important programme and I know people in the<span> room will want to hear me say that.</span></p><span><p>“It is a programme on which we are making significant progress in my view. And the defence secretary is holding a ministerial level meeting next week in relation to this because of the significant benefits here in this country.</p><div><h2>Advertisement</h2><div><div></div></div></div><p>“There is of course a review going on — but it’s important for me to put on record just how important a programme this is.”</p><p>The Tempest fighter jet is set to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon as the RAF’s lead sovereign aircraft. An international consortium involving Japan and Italy has been assembled to bring costs down and there have been talks with Saudi Arabia in an attempt to broaden the coalition.</p><div><div><div><div><div><div><img src="https://www.thetimes.com/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Fb13d6378-8786-445c-99fc-a4e63018b4bf.jpg?crop=4585%2C3061%2C0%2C0" /></div></div></div><div><div><div><div><div>The Eurofighter Typhoon has been in operational service since 2003</div><div>ALAMY</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p>But some experts have argued the programme should be scrapped in favour of buying more F-35s given the imminent threat posed by Russia under President Putin.</p><p>Justin Bronk, an expert in air power at the Royal United Services Institute, said recently that the Ministry of Defence should abandon large-scale procurement orders because there was not enough time for them to be delivered ahead of a potential conflict in the next five years that would cause the economy to “tank”. “We will have to divert everything to fighting that war,” he said.</p><p>The MoD has set aside £12 billion to develop the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), otherwise known as Tempest, with the aim of flying the first aircraft by 2035.</p><div><h2>Advertisement</h2><div><div></div></div></div><p>But Treasury officials are concerned about spiralling costs and an uncertain timeline.</p><p>Labour’s defence review is being led by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, the former head of Nato, Fiona Hill, a former adviser to Donald Trump, and General Sir Richard Barrons, a former deputy chief of the defence staff.</p><p>They will have to judge the relative merits of GCAP compared with other major programmes such as Aukus, the joint US-Australian-British plans to build a nuclear-powered attack submarine.</p><p>Starmer’s refusal to give his unequivocal backing for the aircraft comes after Luke Pollard, the armed forces minister, declined to commit to Tempest’s future at an air power conference last week.</p><div><div><div><div><div><div><img src="https://www.thetimes.com/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2F8d82b867-122e-4857-b326-760bd32583c6.jpg?crop=5000%2C3334%2C0%2C0" /></div></div></div><div><div><div><div><div>The jet would be made by BAE and was expected to bring £37 billion into the economy</div><div>ANDREW MCCAREN FOR THE TIMES</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p>Pollard said it was a “really important programme for us” and its partners. However, he said it was “not right for me to prejudge what might happen in the defence review”.</p><div><h2>Advertisement</h2><div><div></div></div></div><p>The stealth fighter is being developed by BAE, which has predicted the entire programme will contribute £37 billion to the UK economy, at its Lancashire factory.</p><p>A concept model developed by BAE will be on display at Farnborough this week. Roughly the size of a tennis court, the model fighter jet has a larger wingspan than previously expected as experts seek to improve the aerodynamics of the aircraft.</p></span></div></div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 22 Jul 2024 11:30:55 GMT</pubDate><link><![CDATA[https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/keir-starmer-tempest-fighter-jet-programme-z0vckm5fb]]></link><dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator><title><![CDATA[Ill winds for Tempest as Keir Starmer fails to confirm fighter jet’s future]]></title><guid isPermaLink="true"><![CDATA[https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/keir-starmer-tempest-fighter-jet-programme-z0vckm5fb]]></guid></item>