THE UK MINISTRY OF Defence (MoD) has confirmed that it is to switch back to procuring the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter. The official announcement on 10 May came following a decision by the Prime Minister David Cameron to endorse the suggested change. It reverses 2010's abandonment of original plans for the F-35B in favour of the F-35C carrier variant (CV). The change back to the B-model comes as an embarrassment for the government, with the move to the F-35C having been included as a key element of its October 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), but according to the MoD things have changed since 2010. At the time Mr Cameron said that the F-35B STOVL variant was considered to be 'more expensive and less capable'. Announcing the latest change, UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told the House of Commons that this new decision had to be made because 'sticking with the Carrier Variant would delay Carrier Strike by at least three years to 2023 at the earliest and that the cost of fitting catapults and arrestor gear ('cats and traps') to one Queen Elizabeth-class carrier to operate the F-35C has doubled to ￡2 billion'. In a prepared statement he also said that 'the STOVL aircraft offers the UK the ability to have an aircraft carrier available continuously. Although no decision on budgeting for crew and support costs will be taken until the next SDSR in 2015, the second carrier would be able to provide capability while the first vessel is in maintenance.'
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