Since 2015, the UK has licensed £487 million ($617 million) worth of weapons to Israel. However, this does not include equipment exported via open licences. In particular, 15 per cent of the value of every US-made F-35 combat aircraft, which Israel uses to bomb Gaza, is made in the UK, exports for which are covered by an open licence with no limit on the quantity or value of exports. CAAT estimates conservatively that the work on the 36 F-35s exported to Israel up to 2023 has been worth at least £368 million ($466 million) to the UK arms industry.
Sandi, ‘UK is ‘complicit’ in Israel's killing of British aid workers in Gaza, says CAAT’, Middle East Monitor
Ex-Turkish Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Lighting II fifth generation fighter jets.
6 jets out of an order of 30 were completed when the United States government unilaterally cancelled the contract, after Turkey decided to buy S400 long-range SAM systems from Russia in 2020, a decision they surely regret now following the lackluster performance of this system in Ukraine.
"Canada has signed off on the final contract to buy F-35 jet fighters to replace the air force's aging CF-18s, Defence Minister Anita Anand said Monday.
The final agreement for 88 warplanes — involving the Canadian and U.S. governments and the jet's manufacturer — won't see its first delivery until 2026 and the first F-35 squadrons will not be operational until 2029, senior defence officials said during a technical briefing before the minister's announcement.
The project's budget of $19 billion remains the same as originally forecast by the Liberal government when it signalled the purchase last year. Anand and other government officials are sticking to that projection despite the likely effect of inflation — which has caused budgets for other major programs to rise dramatically.
"The F-35 is a modern, reliable and agile fighter aircraft used by our closest allies in missions across the globe," Anand said in a virtual news conference.
"It is the most advanced fighter on the market and it is the right aircraft for our country."
A senior defence official, speaking on background, said the F-35 will be purchased in phases and that the first tranche of four aircraft will cost $85 million US per plane.
The deal represents a dramatic turnaround for the Liberal government, which promised not to buy the F-35 and to instead purchase a cheaper jet fighter and use the savings to bolster the navy."
New Reaper by Treflyn Lloyd-Roberts
Via Flickr:
USAF F-35 19-5493 speeds through the Lake District on a low level training sortie. This jet is marked up for RAF Lakenheath's 493rd Fighter Squadron "Grim Reapers", who had only just retired their F-15Cs and Ds the previous month. Aircraft: USAF Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II AF 19-5493/LN from 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk. Location: Raven Crag, Thirlmere, Lake District, Cumbria.