UK lands F-35 fighter jet assignment worth £500m

The UK has landed a new assignment from the US Department of Defense worth around £500m.

The nine-figure deal was awarded to the aircraft repair hub for F-35 fighter jets Sealand, North Wales, where it will support hundreds of new jobs.

It will see workers at the MoD’s Defence & Electronics Components Agency (DECA) carrying out crucial maintenance, repair and upgrade services on a wider range of F-35 avionic systems.

In 2016, it was announced that the UK would be the location of the global repair hub for the first tranche of F-35 components, building on the Sealand Support Services Ltd (SSSL) joint venture struck between DECA, aerospace giant BAE Systems and defence tech company Northrop Grumman.

SSSL’s services for F-35 aircraft are due to commence from 2020.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “This announcement keeps Britain right at the centre of the global F-35 partnership, the largest defence programme in history.

“It is a vote of confidence in our highly-skilled workforce and high-tech industry that provides us and our allies with the very best of what British engineering has to offer.”

He continued: “This deal builds on the strong foundations of the UK’s enduring defence partnership with the US. It is a significant boost for British jobs and those highly-skilled workers who enable these world-class fighter jets to continue keeping us safe and secure.”

In November last year, Sheffield architects HLM won a national competition to design a new £160m base for F-35 fighter jets in the UK.

It follows a £135m MoD contract, awarded in 2017 to a joint venture between building firms Galliford Try and Lagan Construction, for a new F-35 hangar at RAF Marham in Norfolk.