Britain offers to swap US F-35 fighter

Islam Times reports from Defence News: In a letter to the US Congress, the UK proposed that Washington give it one of its carrier variants (F-35C) of the F-35 in exchange for a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) version, called the F-35B.

The Pentagon described the trade as "mutually beneficial" and "cost neutral", but it requires a legislative amendment to the 2012 defence authorization bill.

It requested the amendment in a June 14 letter from Elizabeth King, assistant secretary of defence for legislative affairs, to Vice President Joe Biden, in his role as president of the US Senate.

The UK decided last year, as part of its Strategic Defence and Security Review, to stop buying the F-35B. Instead, the Royal Navy will only buy the F-35C, which is being designed for conventional takeoffs and landings on aircraft carriers.

The cost-savings measure resulted in the UK having an extra F-35B on its hands.

The United States, which is buying the F-35B for the US Marine Corps and the F-35C for the US Navy, was not scheduled to receive its F-35Bs until later. A third variant, the F-35A, is being developed for the US Air Force.

Under the exchange, the UK would have to cover any costs required to upgrade its F-35B aircraft so that it would be identical to the version the US had planned to buy, according to the letter.

The UK would also be responsible for any unique requirements it has for the F-35C.

Under the plan, United States would get an F-35B two years earlier. This means $10 million in additional operations and maintenance costs for the Marine Corps in 2013 and 2014. This would be due to increased flight hours, fuel, training costs, etc.

In January, former Defence Secretary Robert Gates put the F-35B portion of the JSF program on probation for two years, saying he had serious concerns about the aircraft's performance in tests.

"If we cannot fix this variant during this time frame and get it back on track in terms of performance, cost and schedule, then I believe it should be canceled," Gates said.

The cost for developing and procuring the F-35 is usually cited to be about $382 billion, according to US budget documents. Of that amount, $72 billion has been spent.