RAF's F-35 Jet Misses Planned Air Show Debut

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The Royal Air Force's expensive new fighter jet has failed to make its long-awaited UK debut after a fire grounded the entire fleet of aircraft.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is known as the Lightning II in the UK and is supposedly the future of military aviation.

It had been due to fly at the Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire on Monday, after failing to make the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford, Gloucestershire, on Friday.

But in a hugely embarrassing glitch for the Government, the costly planes will have to remain on a runway in Florida until engineers can be sure the fire was caused by an isolated fault.

A senior British defence source told Sky News that Lockheed Martin, the primary manufacturers, and the Pentagon will "get a shoeing" over the grounding.

The F-35 is being built at Lockheed Martin's factory in Fort Worth, Texas

The UK is investing billions of pounds and staking the reputation of the military on the eventual success of the F-35 programme.

Four of the Lightning II jets were due to fly over Farnborough and organisers of the show said they were "hopeful" the aircraft would make its transatlantic journey by the end of the week.

They added: "We fully support the stance to never compromise safety of either pilots or show participants and we thank them all for their continued hard work."

To coincide with the aircraft's planned appearance at Farnborough, the UK Government is expected to announce how many aircraft it will buy in its first tranche of orders.

Later this decade, the F-35 will fly off the new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, which was officially named last week.

Lightning II made its first vertical landing at sea in October

The aircraft can take off on a short runway and land vertically - much like its predecessor, the Harrier.

The F-35 Lightning II programme has been beset by problems, with aircraft grounded on a number of occasions and spending that has run wildly over budget.

Different versions are being built by Lockheed Martin for the US Marines, the US Air Force and the US Army.

The UK is known as a "tier one" partner, meaning it is the most important contributor after the Pentagon.

Despite much criticism and speculation over the aircraft's future, Washington and London will not back out.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said the UK "remains fully committed" to the programme.

To cover the humiliation of the F-35's absence, the Government may make announcements about increased defence capabilities instead.

Sky News understands the lifespan of the Sentinel surveillance plane will be extended.

The fleet had been earmarked for retirement but has seen strong demand in recent years in Mali, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Libya.

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