Although war with russia is becoming a real threat, it is needed to acquire modern weapons as soon as possible. The integration of the 200-km-range Meteor air-to-air and Spear 3 air-to-ground missiles onto the F-35B fighter jets for the UK will not be accelerated. The completion dates remain in the early 2030s.
This has been confirmed by the country 's Ministry of Defense, according to the UK Defence Journal. Work has been underway since 2019 and was originally scheduled to be completed in 2027, but the deadline has since been pushed back. It appears that government officials do not currently view this as a problem.
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The delays are reportedly caused by U.S. issues in developing a software update for the F-35 Block 4. This update is critical for the integration of Meteor and Spear 3.
It is reported that this fifth-generation fighter jet program has consistently faced various delays due to unforeseen complications. As a result, the cost has risen from $10.6 billion to $16.5 billion, and the aircraft is now not expected to be ready until 2029. As a result, the UK is unable to accelerate the process independently.
From Defense Express we would like to note that due to these issues in the U.S., Britain is left without modern long-range weapons for its carrier-based fighters. This significantly limits the capabilities of the two existing carrier strike groups.
The problem also appears to persist when integrating additional weapons onto the F-35. This highlights the significant dependence of aircraft buyers on delays in U.S. programs.
At the same time, these problems affect not only export customers but also the United States itself, which, due to delays, is forced to compromise on the capabilities of the fighter jets. In some cases, this means receiving aircraft without onboard radars or electronic warfare systems.
Despite this, work on integrating the Meteor is progressing steadily, including installation in the weapons bay and test flights. In fact, there are two programs: one for carrier-based F-35Bs and another for land-based F-35As.
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