Funding for second tranche of UK F-35B fighters “held centrally”

The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) looks to have partially committed to the acquisition of a second tranche of F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters and additional A400M tactical transport aircraft, following the publication on February 21 of the latest iteration of the Defence Equipment Plan. The commitments come as part of an apparent uptick in spending on platform acquisition and upgrades across all military domains. In November 2020, the UK announced an increase in defence spending over four years of