Britain’s F-35s to be deprived of long-range missiles ‘until early 2030s’

Britain’s most advanced warplanes will not be able to shoot missiles at ground targets until at least 2030, ministers have admitted.

The F-35B stealth jet was originally set to gain long-range Spear 3 missiles capable of taking out tanks, air defences and bunkers from this year, a target that was later pushed back to 2028.

But in an embarrassing blow to the Ministry of Defence, procurement minister Maria Eagle has revealed their deployment will now be delayed until the “early 2030s”.

It leaves British F-35B pilots reliant on dropped bombs to strike ground targets, with one expert comparing the situation to the dangerous missions carried out by Lancaster bomber crews in the Second World War.

The aircraft shared by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force are currently only equipped with Paveway IV precision-guided bombs, along with medium and short-range air-to-air missiles.

By comparison, the British-made Spear 3 would allow pilots to launch air-to-ground strikes on targets more than 60 miles away.

Critics warned the delay risks leaving Britain underpowered at a time when the heads of the Army and MI6 have called for the military to be prepared for war with Russia within a few years.

Francis Tusa, an independent defence analyst, said: “This is a massive disaster for the MoD.

“Spear 3 is meant to be a game-changing missile that will give British pilots a capability that the Russians are genuinely scared of.

“But at the moment, if they want to take out ground targets with our F-35Bs, they will have to fly above them and drop a gravity bomb - much like the Lancaster bomber pilots did during the Second World War.

“It undermines the case for having the F-35 in the first place.”

It represents the latest setback in the MoD’s years-long effort to equip the American-made F-35B jets with a broader range of weaponry, changes that must ultimately be signed off by Washington.

In a written statement to MPs, Ms Eagle gave no explanation for the delay to Spear 3. She said the programme was “currently undergoing re-baselining”.

But it is understood that the issue is related to long-delayed upgrades of the F-35 hardware and software by Lockheed Martin, which makes the jets.

Along with Spear 3, the UK has also been seeking to add longer-range Meteor missiles to the warplane’s arsenal - another capability that is not expected until at least the end of this decade.

Spear 3 and Meteor missiles have been developed by MBDA, an Anglo-European manufacturer, whereas the F-35 is built by the US defence giant Lockheed Martin.

The F-35B has been in service with the Navy and Air Force since 2018 and is one of the UK’s most expensive defence platforms ever, with each aircraft costing £90m.

They are designed to penetrate enemy territory and carry out devastating strikes, using cutting-edge technology to mask their presence from radar and air defence systems.