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f-35b fighter jets on board the british navy's aircraft carrier queen elizabeth

according to foreign media reports, the newly elected labour government in the uk recently stated that due to the public finance gap of up to 22 billion pounds (about 29 billion us dollars) left by the previous government, the upcoming government budget may be significantly reduced. some analysts said that if the defense budget is adjusted accordingly, the funding for the f-35 fighter jet project may be cut.

in fact, this is not the first time that the british government has cut funding for the f-35 fighter jet project. in 2015, the british ministry of defense said it planned to build a fleet of 138 f-35b fighter jets for two queen elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. however, foreign media reported in 2023 that due to insufficient budget funds, the british navy has reduced the number of f-35b fighter jets ordered to 70. so far, the british navy has only confirmed orders for 48 f-35b fighter jets, of which 34 have been delivered.

although the previous conservative government of the united kingdom stated that the purchase of 27 f-35b fighter jets was under negotiation and was expected to be delivered in 2033, relevant people in the uk ministry of defense were not optimistic about this.

the cost and operation and maintenance costs of the f-35b fighter have increased year by year. it is reported that due to inflation and other factors, the budget problem of the f-35b fighter has been difficult to solve. in 2023, the british f-35 joint program office said that according to the latest production data of the f-35 fighter, the average unit price of the f-35 fighter is 82.5 million us dollars. the former defense secretary ben wallace expressed concern about the cost of the f-35 fighter project and the full-cycle operation and maintenance costs, calling it "unacceptably high." this problem not only troubles the british government, but the united states is also deeply involved. in april this year, the u.s. congressional audit office published a report on the f-35 fighter project, which showed that the maintenance cost of the f-35 fighter project has increased by 44% since 2018. the report also pointed out that the f-35 fighter has poor ability to perform its missions across the board, and the worst of them is the f-35b model, with a mission availability rate of only 14.9%.

in addition, the british government has also invested a lot of money to promote the development of the next generation of "tempest" fighter jets. according to british media reports, the british government can save about 13 billion pounds by reducing the number of f-35b fighter jets purchased, and most of the funds may be used for the development of the next generation of "tempest" fighter jets. due to the many problems in the "tempest" fighter jet project, it has aroused widespread doubts. on the one hand, the uk has no experience in developing fifth-generation aircraft and directly developed the sixth-generation aircraft, and it still needs to overcome related technical difficulties. on the other hand, the development of new fighter jets requires huge funds. according to reports, as of 2022, the f-35 fighter jet project has not yet entered the mass production stage, and the project cost has risen to 397.8 billion us dollars. in contrast, the uk's initial budget for the "tempest" fighter jet project is only 2.6 billion us dollars. in a latest report, the british government's infrastructure and project management bureau gave a red rating to the "global combat air program" project with the "tempest" fighter jet as the core, indicating that the project is considered "unachievable." according to reports, if the "tempest" fighter jet cannot be developed and the f-35b fighter jet cannot continue to be purchased due to lack of funds, it will affect the future construction of britain's air force.