Next generation of fighter jets to be in Norfolk

SCOTLAND will lose out to Norfolk on being home to the next generation of fighter jets, ministers will announce.

There had been hopes that the new Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters (JSF), which will be the heart of the RAF’s future capabilities, might be based at Lossiemouth in Moray, but they will fly from RAF Marham.

In a written statement yesterday, it was announced a third RAF installation will be closed in Scotland in the next three years with the loss of 30 jobs.

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The military air traffic control at Prestwick Airport is be shut down as part of a rationalisation in the RAF. It joins RAF Leuchars in Fife and RAF Kinloss in Moray, which have both become army bases.

In the statement, Conservative armed forces minister Andrew Robathan said: “Technological advances mean that the system can be rationalised and it will be possible to cover the military control task for the entire country from the London Air Traffic Control Centre [at Swanwick]. There will be no detrimental
impact on air traffic control.”

On the JSF decision, SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson, who is also MP for Moray, said: “That the MoD have decided to base their new Joint Strike Fighters at Marham in Norfolk, rather than Lossiemouth – once described as the optimal location for the aircraft – is just the latest blow to the beleaguered defence establishment in Scotland from the Westminster system. Once again Scotland hasn’t got fair treatment.

“This follows a three-year review, and we also learn today that there is to be a delay in the deployment of the new Typhoon aircraft to Lossiemouth until the summer of 2014 – it all starts to look like another Westminster omnishambles.

“When Defence Secretary Philip Hammond came to Edin­burgh recently to tell us how much the coalition cared about Scotland, there was widespread scepticism. Today, we are proved right to be entirely sceptical about anything this Westminster government says about defence in Scotland.”

Defence cuts mean that both the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are to reduce by 5,000 personnel and the army by 7,000 by 2020. In 2011, the reduction in the army was increased to 20,000 by 2020.

The decision secures the future of RAF Marham, where about 5,000 people are employed and which had been in doubt as Tornado GR4 squadrons are phased out in 2019.

Defence sources suggested that Marham’s relative proximity to HM Naval Base Ports­mouth had been a key factor, while South West Norfolk MP Elizabeth Truss said its positioning near the United States air bases in the east of England was also an advantage.

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She added: “The close proximity to the USAF at Lakenheath and Mildenhall is an obvious advantage, and with over 5,000 personnel currently working at the base, the substantial wider economic benefits to the region have been estimated at £102 million.”

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that RAF Lossiemouth would be getting new Typhoon interceptor aircraft in the summer of 2014, about six months later than had been expected.

Two Typhoon squadrons are being transferred from RAF Leuchars in Fife.

Britain ordered the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter – the Lightning II – as a replacement for the ageing Harrier fleet and is due to enter service with both the RAF and the Royal Navy by 2018.

The F-35B is a short take-off and vertical landing version, meaning it is deally suited to
aircraft carrier use.

It has a top speed of 1,300mph and a range of 1,450 miles, compared with the Harrier, which could reach a speed of 700mph and had a range of 350 miles.