Inside The UK’s Integrated Defense Review

The UK will purchase “beyond 48” F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, but this will be over the lifetime of the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers to the 2060s.

The planned Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning fleet purchase will shrink from five to three, with first deliveries in 2023, while the Boeing E-3 Sentry will exit service by year-end, leaving a two-year capability gap.

The remainder of the RAF’s C-130J Hercules fleet—14 aircraft—will be retired by the end of 2023, leaving the tactical airlift mission to the Airbus A400M fleet. Upgrades for the C-130J, including installation of a new wingbox, have been halted.

The British Army’s troubled Thales Watchkeeper unmanned aircraft system, the subject of numerous accidents, will be upgraded.

Four British Aerospace 146s used for transport and VIP missions will be retired in 2023. Their role looks set to be partly taken up by two Airbus A321neo airliners wet-leased from UK airline Titan Airways.

The UK will expand its nuclear weapons stockpile ceiling to 260 from 180 as it continues to modernize the submarine-launched nuclear deterrent.