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F-35 Aircraft: Procurement

Answer

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to his previous Question 87989 on 18 November 2025:

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-11-04/87989

I refer the hon. Member to page 15, paragraphs 15-17 of the Fifty First Report of the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 2024-26 on The UK’s F-35 stealth fighter capability, HC 1232, published on 31 October 2025.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has increased its recruitment of engineers significantly in the last two years; offering joining bonuses and increasing the capacity of its technical training skills to enable more recruits to be trained more quickly. To improve retention the RAF has implemented a Financial Retention Incentive for engineers.

The MOD has acknowledged that the F35 programme suffers from a shortage of engineers and that it is crucial that the Department addresses this issue, with significant steps already having been taken to improve the situation. However, training time required for engineers means that it is expected to take three or four years before the programme has the required numbers.

The MOD has noted the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendations related to personnel and will be responding through the Treasury Minute Process in due course. The recruitment and retention of personnel remains one of the top two priorities for the Chief of the Defence Staff.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

90800

Session

2024-26

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Subjects

Procurement F-35 aircraft Engineers

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk