The U.K.’s F-35 fighter jet program costs will be “significantly higher” than the British government has publicly acknowledged, the country’s public spending watchdog has said.
Over the life span of the fifth-generation F-35 program, the overall price will reach roughly £71 billion, or just over $96 billion, the National Audit Office (NAO) said early on Friday.
The forecast that had been made public predicted the U.K. would need to spend close to £18.8 billion ($25.5 billion) for 48 F-35s until 2048. The Defense Ministry said following the watchdog presenting its report to the government that it will spend a little under £57 billion, or just shy of $77 billion, on buying and operating 138 aircraft through to 2069, the NAO said.
This figure does not include personnel, fuel and other linked costs, the audit office added.
Newsweek has approached the Defense Ministry for comment via email.
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The watchdog said it assessed these additional costs would be around the £14 billion mark, equivalent to $19 billion.
The £71 billion estimate from the NAO also includes other costs associated with the F-35, including personnel, fuel, and the infrastructure needed to operate the aircraft. It does not include the cost of weapons carried by the jets.
The U.K. in June announced it would buy at least another 12 F-35s, opting for the slightly cheaper F-35A variant that would also bring London into NATO‘s nuclear-capable aircraft fleet. These jets are certified to carry conventional munitions as well as U.S. tactical nuclear weapons, picked instead of more of the F-35B variants the U.K. already has. The U.K. currently has 37 operational F-35s.
The variants of the Lockheed Martin-made F-35 are the only fifth-generation fighter aircraft available to Western militaries, and many of the 20 nations operating or buying F-35s are NATO members, including the U.K.
Fifth-generation jets are harder to detect, have more advanced avionics and are more equipped to take out enemy air defenses than fourth-generation aircraft, which are still widely used.
The F-35 has become a more controversial purchase since President Donald Trump—notoriously unpredictable with American allies—returned to the White House, and speculation about a “kill switch” has been rife.
This term refers to a supposed way for Washington to control the expensive aircraft operated and owned by recipient countries at will.
Experts and officials have downplayed these concerns, but concede that the U.S. could have a noticeable impact on how well these aircraft could operate, should it choose to influence software upgrades or change access to intelligence.
U.K. deliveries of F-35s, as well as the F-35 program more broadly, have been beset by delays. The British Defense Ministry predicts that it will have received 48 aircraft by April 2026.
The NAO said it estimated the Defense Ministry has spent £11 billion, or almost $15 billion, on F-35s to date.
