Overview
- The MoD told MPs that during Operation HIGHMAST it put 24 F-35B jets on a carrier even though the afloat spares pack covered only 12, which it partly offset by pulling extra parts from a deployable pack and from RAF Marham.
- The Public Accounts Committee chair called the planning "entirely unacceptable incompetence" and said forces need clear and reliable supply lines.
- Salt exposure at sea has driven corrosion across the fleet, sending more jets into inspections and repairs and lowering short-term availability.
- The Lightning Force has 168 engineering posts with about 75% filled, with full technician competence expected by 2032 due to multi‑year training on the aircraft.
- RAF Marham is adding single living blocks due by May 2027 and a new hangar and squadron HQ around 2030, and the MoD approved the Small Diameter Bomb II as an interim standoff weapon until SPEAR‑3 arrives.