The F-35B Lightning II, a fifth-generation short-take-off and vertical landing fighter, is devastating the British Ministry of Defense, General Richard Dunnat, who headed the General Staff of the country’s Armed Forces (AF) in 2006-2009, reports to The Mirror.
According to him, the cost of one F-35B Lightning II is 80 million pounds sterling (over 110 million dollars) with a flight hour price reaching 90 thousand pounds (over 125 thousand dollars).
According to the military, such spending “will distort the defense budget for decades,” and the British Army will be the losers. “The Russians are laughing at us, the Americans are shaking their heads,” the military said, speaking about the combat readiness of the British Armed Forces.
The publication of the British newspaper claims that London will be able to buy from Washington instead of 138 units of F-35B Lightning II, probably only 48.
In October 2018, the F-35B Lightning II on the Royal Navy (Royal Navy) aircraft carrier of Great Britain Queen Elizabeth successfully completed a vertical landing with a run for the first time.