/themes/custom/particle/dist/app-drupal/assets/awn-logo.svg
Skip to main content
  • Market Sector
    • Aerospace
    • Air Transport
    • MRO
    • Defense and Space
    • Business Aviation
  • Markets
    • Aerospace
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Connected Aerospace
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Manufacturing & Supply Chain
      • Unmanned & Urban Aviation
      • Commercial Space
      • Program Management
    • Air Transport
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Airports & Routes
      • Airlines & Lessors
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Maintenance & Training
    • MRO
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Supply Chain
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Workforce & Training
    • Defense and Space
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Sensors & Electronic Warfare
      • Missile Defense & Weapons
      • Supply Chain
      • Budget, Policy & Operations
      • Space
    • Business Aviation
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Airports, FBOs & Suppliers
      • Flight Deck
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Maintenance & Training
  • Marketplace
  • Services
    • Services
      • Advertising
      • Marketing Services
      • Fleet, Data & APIs
      • Research & Consulting
      • Network and Route Planning
      • Marketplace
  • Store
    • Market Sector

      • Aerospace
      • Air Transport
      • MRO
      • Defense and Space
      • Business Aviation
    • Type View All Products
      • Intelligence Bundles
        • AWIN - Premium
        • AWIN - Aerospace and Defense
        • AWIN - Business Aviation
        • AWIN - Commercial Aviation
      • Market Briefings
        • Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
        • Aviation Daily
        • SpeedNews
        • The Weekly of Business Aviation
      • Directories
        • Air Charter Guide
        • Aviation Week Marketplace
        • Route Exchange
        • The Engine Yearbook
      • Data Services
        • AC-U-KWIK
        • Aircraft Bluebook
        • Airportdata.com
        • Airport Strategy and Marketing (ASM)
        • CAPA – Centre for Aviation
        • Fleet Discovery Civil
        • Fleet Discovery Military
        • Fleet & MRO Forecast
        • MRO Prospector
      • Publications
        • Air Transport World
        • Aviation Week & Space Technology
        • Aviation Week & Space Technology - Inside MRO
        • Business & Commercial Aviation
        • CAPA - Airline Leader
        • Routes magazine
        • ShowNews
      • Resources
        • Downloadable Reports
  • Events
    • Events View All Events
      • MRO
        • MRO Americas
        • MRO Asia
        • MRO Baltics, Eastern Europe and Russia (BEER)
        • MRO Europe
        • MRO Latin America
        • MRO Middle East
        • MRO Transatlantic
        • Military Aviation Logistics and Maintenance Symposium (MALMS)
      • Commercial Aviation
        • Aero-Engines Americas
        • Aero-Engines Asia
        • Aero-Engines Europe
        • Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference (ASC)
        • Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference - Europe (ACE)
        • Engine Leasing, Trading & Finance
      • Aerospace and Defense
        • A&D Mergers and Acquisitions Conference (ADMA)
        • Aerospace Manufacturing Conference (AMC)
        • Aerospace Raw Materials & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference (RMC)
        • DefenseChain Conference (DCPE)
      • Air Transport
        • CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit
        • CAPA Latin America Aviation & LCCs Summit
        • CAPA Live
        • Routes Americas 2021
        • Routes Asia 2021
        • Routes Europe 2021
        • Routes Reconnected
        • TakeOff North America 2020
        • World Aviation Outlook Summit 2020
        • World Routes 2021
      • Business Aviation
        • Business Aviation Week 2020
        • Business & General Aviation Conference (BGA)
      • Awards
        • 20 Twenties
        • Aviation Week Laureates Awards
        • Program Excellence Awards and Banquet
    • Webinars
      • Upcoming Webinars
  • About
    • About Aviation Week Network
      • Our Story
      • Content and Data Team
      • Aviation Week & Space Technology 100-Year
    • Contact Us
      • Subscriber Services
      • Advertising, Marketing Services & List Rentals
      • Content Sales
      • Events
      • PR & Communications
      • Content Licensing and Reprints
      • FAQ
  • Log In
  • Register
  • My Account
    • Profile
    • Sign Out
  • AWIN Access
  • My cart
  1. Back to Defense Aircraft & Propulsion

Share

British F-35s Are Now Calling Britain Home

Tony Osborne

The Long Drag

Cpl. Tim Lawrence/Royal Air Force/Crown Copyright

The four F-35Bs were escorted across the Atlantic by two of the RAF’s heavyweight Airbus A330 Voyager multirole tanker transports. During the 8.5-hr. flight, each F-35 refueled nine times, to keep their tanks topped up in case of the need to divert. The jets had been expected to cross the Atlantic on June 5, but storms in the North Atlantic prompted planners to delay the departure by 24 hr. due to concerns about sea state.

Cloud Nine

SAC Nicholas Egan/Royal Air Force/Crown Copyright

Britain has 15 F-35s in service and 48 on order. All the aircraft are Block 3F-standard and are equipped to carry the Raytheon Paveway IV precision-guided bomb, the MBDAAsraam air-to-air missile, as well as other standard U.S.-made munitions and weapons such as the Amraam missile.

Proud History

SAC Nicholas Egan/Royal Air Force/Crown Copyright

Five more British F-35s are expected to cross the pond in August, bringing the number of UK-based aircraft to nine. This batch will support training of 617 Sqdn. and allow them to achieve initial operational capability from land bases by the end of 2018. The UK also is supporting the testing and evaluation of the F-35 with jets based with 17 Sqdn. at Edwards AFB, California. British pilots are being trained with the U.S. Marine Corps’ VMFAT-501 training unit at Beaufort, South Carolina. Training is due to transfer to the UK in 2019, when 207 Sqdn. stands up.

STOVL Landing

Sgt Nik Howe/Royal Air Force/Crown Copyright

The F-35Bs transitioned to short-takeoff-and-vertical landing (STOVL) mode for their approach and touchdown at RAF Marham. To support the training there, the base is being refurbished with new concrete pads for vertical landing training.

Touchdown

Sgt Nik Howe/Royal Air Force/Crown Copyright

As part of the refurbishment efforts for the new fleet, the UK Defense Ministry has refurbished Marham’s cross runway to support training efforts. The runway had been open for just a week when the F-35s arrived. The large number of open doors that enable the F-35’s STOVL flight mode can be clearly seen here.

Dusk Arrival

Tony Osborne/AW&ST

Surprisingly, the often unpredictable British weather cooperated to make for a sunlit arrival. British F-35s are sparsely marked. Despite the heritage of the historic squadrons that operate them, it is unclear whether the British aircraft will ever carry any squadron markings like those in the U.S. or Italy. This is a growing trend in the UK, where aircraft are pooled across different squadrons to reduce costs and increase availability. Even the British Eurofighter Typhoon fleets have lost their squadron markings in recent years.

F-35’s Future for the UK

Tony Osborne/AW&ST

Although Britain is planning to purchase 138 F-35s, this number will likely be required across the life of the program rather than at the same time. Ministers say the first 48 aircraft are fully funded, but little is known about plans beyond that; interest in a mixed fleet, including other variants such as the conventional-takeoff F-35A, appears to be increasingly gathering momentum.

Previous
Next

Six years after the first delivery, the UK’s F-35 fleet has begun arriving on British soil. Four of the nation’s 15 Joint Strike Fighters, belonging to the recently reactivated 617 Sqdn. (“Dambusters”), crossed the Atlantic on June 6 to land at their new home base of RAF Marham, England, also home to the quickly dwindling Panavia Tornado GR4 fleet. The trip attracted significant media interest; the F-35 will not only be operated by the Royal Air Force but also jointly by the Royal Navy, flying from the new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

Tony Osborne

Based in London, Tony covers European defense programs. Prior to joining Aviation Week in November 2012, Tony was at Shephard Media Group where he was deputy editor for Rotorhub and Defence Helicopter magazines.

Aviation Week Intelligence Network
Monitor the market and connect your business to the people, programs and proprietary data driving the Aerospace & Defense market - only available with AWIN.

ASD_AWIN_thumbnail_270

Stay Connected.
Stay Informed
Grow Your Business.

Learn How

Follow us on

Markets

  • Aerospace
  • Air Transport
  • MRO
  • Defense and Space
  • Business Aviation

Products

  • AWIN Intelligence Bundles
  • Market Briefings
  • Publications
  • Data Services
  • Directories
  • Resources

Contact Us

  • Subscriber Services
  • Advertising, Marketing Services & List Rentals
  • Content Sales
  • Events
  • PR & Communications
  • Content Licensing and Reprints
  • FAQ

Other Resources

  • Aviation Week Marketplace
  • Knowledge Center
  • Newsletters
  • ShowNews
Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC.
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use