£100m wasted as Minister backtracks on carrier aircraft

In a major policy U-turn, Mr Hammond yesterday said the National Security Council decided to revert to plans by the former Labour government to acquire the jump jet version of the US-built F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Under plans set out in the 2010 strategic defence and security review (SDSR), the coalition had intended to switch to the more capable F-35C carrier variant of the aircraft.

But Mr Hammond told the Commons that the costs of fitting the necessary catapults and arrester gear, “cats and traps”, had more than doubled to £2bn.

At the same time delays to the programme meant that it would not now be operational until 2023: three years later than planned.

“When the facts change the responsible thing to do is to examine the decisions you have made and to be willing to change your mind,” he said.

“I am not prepared to accept a delay in regenerating Britain’s carrier strike capability beyond the timetable set out in the SDSR. And I am not prepared to put the (MoD’s) equipment plan at risk of a billion-pound plus increase in the carrier programme and unquantifiable risk of further cost rises.”

The Defence Secretary said reverting to the jump jet would also open the possibility that both carriers could become operational and that one would not have to be mothballed as planned under the SDSR.

Pressed by Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy, he said £40m to £50m had been spent on the assessment and design work for fitting the cats and traps and that the MoD could also face “exit” payments to contractors in the US. He later said the final bill was likely to be “something in the order of £100m”.

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