The United Kingdom has finally published its long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which will define future weapons procurement. It confirms that despite budget pressures, plans to acquire F-35A fighters for nuclear delivery remain intact.
According to the document, the first such aircraft will arrive in the early 2030s. Britain will thereby join NATO's dual-capable aircraft programme for nuclear missions — adding another layer of deterrence alongside submarine-launched missiles.
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Overall spending on F-35 aircraft, including carrier-based F-35Bs, is planned at £2.2 billion (€2.56 billion) across the 2026–2027 to 2029–2030 financial years. Beyond additional airframe procurement, this covers supporting infrastructure development, including jet-powered loyal wingman drones.
Defense Express notes that the DIP effectively dispels the earlier concern that Britain might abandon the F-35A. The country and NATO as a whole, will gain an additional means of deterrence.
The decision has nonetheless attracted a degree of domestic criticism. The DIP cancels future plans for the Type 83 missile destroyer and Type 32 frigate in favour of drone-control vessels, a move British commentators have interpreted as a serious weakening of the Royal Navy's future capability.
There are also questions around the scale of the F-35A commitment. Plans currently cover only 12 aircraft, which is insufficient to maintain continuous alert readiness and creates the need for dedicated logistics infrastructure, personnel training, and maintenance facilities, given that the F-35A differs considerably from the carrier-based F-35B.
The nuclear weapons the fighters are being purchased to carry are themselves a source of scepticism: the B61-12 gravity bomb can only be delivered at relatively short range from the target, meaning British aircraft would need to penetrate modern air defences at considerable cost and risk for a weapon of uncertain operational utility.
One counter-argument is that the money would be better spent on additional F-35Bs, of which there are currently barely enough to equip two carriers. This option has been advanced as preferable given constrained finances.
Overall, Britain has made its decisions on the future of its aviation, and they clearly did not come easily, given that the defense funding shortfall over the next four years has been estimated at £28 billion (€32 billion). Compromises were inevitable.
It is also positive that Britain has managed to protect strategic programmes such as the sixth-generation Tempest fighter under the GCAP programme, developed jointly with Japan and Italy. The FCAD technology demonstrator is already in production and on track to fly in 2028.
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