The Government is set to perform a U-turn on its controversial plans for Britain’s new aircraft carrier.
The Times understands that Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, with the backing of armed forces chiefs, urged the Prime Minister yesterday to recommend he reverse the 2010 decision to buy the “carrier variant” F35C Joint Strike Fighter, which requires the installation of a “catapult and traps” launch system on the new carrier.
Instead, the Government is set to revert to Labour’s original plan to purchase the F35B vertical landing version of the jet for the as yet un-launched carrier.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said yesterday that a statement on the issue would be made before Easter.
The volte-face would save costs for converting the carrier to the new aircraft type, which have risen from £1.2billion to £2billion.
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When the coalition Government abandoned Labour’s original plan, David Cameron claimed the vertical landing aircraft was a “more expensive and less capable version of the joint strike fighter”.
Yesterday, Jim Murphy, Shadow Defence Secretary, said: “This would be one of the biggest public procurement messes for many decades. If confirmed, David Cameron will have wasted more than a year and squandered millions.”
“The Government must explain why they overturned Labour’s preferred option, only to now appear to accept that this was the best option.”
One senior Whitehall source said that the Armed Forces chiefs were “very supportive” of the U-turn.
The Government is expected to announce its Defence Planning Round 2012 next Tuesday. Defence sources told The Times that a statement announcing the change to the JSF variant could come on Friday.
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The Lockheed Martin-designed JSF programme has faced mounting costs and technical problems. The US Department of Defence put the F35-B on “probation” at the start of 2011 because of technical problems but gave it a much improved assessment at the start of 2012.
The Ministry of Defence said it is “reviewing elements of the carrier strike programme”.
Defence analysts said that reverting to the F-35B would save enough for the MoD to claim that it has, for the first time in decades, successfully balanced its budget this year.
“The costs of converting the carriers have continued to escalate and they haven’t solved all the technical problems, but this is about Hammond being able to announce he has balanced the books,” said Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute.
“I know they had got it (the Defence spending black hole) down to the low billions but there was still something there and Hammond has been determined to get this absolutely on keel.”
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James Arbuthnot, chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, said: “If this is the direction then they (the Government) are to be congratulated for the decision despite the embarrassment it will undoubtedly cause.”