The influential union Unite has urged the UK’s Labour government to procure additional Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighters in order to sustain UK defence aerospace jobs, rather than a rumoured acquisition of US-origin F-35A fifth-generation stealth fighters.
UK industrial participation in both programmes in performed through BAE Systems, with European industry, including Airbus, backing the Eurofighter, while the F-35 fighter is led by US defence prime Lockheed Martin.
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In different degrees, BAE Systems builds elements of both fighters and integrates UK specific systems, although this leans in favour of the Eurofighter.
Announcing its stance in a 20 January 2025 release, Unite stated that a decision was “imminent” from the UK government on the acquisition of additional fighters for the Royal Air Force (RAF), with the two choices either being the Eurofighter Typhoon or US-origin F-35 stealth fighter.
In formal procurement processes, the F-35 has never lost a programme in which it has entered. No UK tender process has been published for the purchase of new fighters, with any potential boost in aircraft numbers considered most likely to be in the procurement additional Eurofighters to replace 30 Tranche 1 variants due to be axed in 2025.
However, the Unite release explicitly mentions the F-35A, adding that a UK order for the US-designed stealth fighter would “only secure 2-3 months of work in Britain for 2,000 people whereas 24 Typhoons would secure 26,000 jobs for two years for workers in BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, Leonardo and the UK supply chain”.
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By GlobalDataMaintaining a UK defence aerospace industry with the required depth is critical for the ongoing development of the GCAP sixth-generation fighter, a programme that the UK defence committee recently stated was critical for the sector.
However, a UK government report, citing the latest 2023/24 period, gave the GCAP fighter programme (also known as FCAS or Tempest in the UK) a red rating. The GCAP fighter is due to enter service in 2035, in replacement of the Eurofighter Typhoons in RAF service.
UK faces choice between Europe or the US
The inclusion of F-35 by Unite into any potential UK procurement of additional fighters has come somewhat out of left field, with the UK government at pains to urge defence procument decisions to centre on industry involvement.
That BAE Systems is the lead UK company in both Eurofighter and Typhoon might offer the government a way out, by being able to claim either way that the decision that provide certainty to the UK economy.
However, Airbus has stated the Eurofighter programme needs additional orders if it is to stay viable through to the 2040s, with European partners Germany, Spain, and Italy all acquiring or having new aircraft delivered in 2024.
Unite’s public intervention is a warning shot across the bows of the Labour government, which has close ties to the union, which itself imparts significant political influence.
The UK currently operates the F-35B fighter, a short take-off, vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the conventional take off and landing F-35A. In UK service, the F-35B fleet is jointly operated by RAF and Royal Navy fast jet squadrons, although better suited to naval operations due to its ability to fly from the flight decks of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
Any purchase of F-35A would only be for the RAF, offering improvement performance characteristics, such as range and payload, over the F-35B STOVL variant.
