UK's F-35 fleet achieves required missions only 33% of the time

The UK's F-35 fleet can perform only one third of required missions, largely due to a shortage of engineers, spare parts, and unexpected corrosion issues. The National Audit Office (NAO) revealed that Britain's expectations for its 37 stealth aircraft are "significantly" lower than global standards. The Ministry of Defence has already spent a minimum of £11 billion on the program.

The NAO projects the total cost to be up to £71 billion by 2069, not including weapon costs. The report highlights slow maintenance and lack of spare parts as main issues. Currently, British F-35s are armed only with bombs, meaning they must fly over targets to hit them, raising the risk of being spotted by enemy air defenses and shot down despite their stealth profile.

Plans to integrate advanced weapons won't happen until the 2030s.