Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne reportedly plans to announce that Britain is purchasing 138 F-35B aircraft.

The purchase goes far beyond what most defence analysts, including ourselves, expected and is reportedly the centrepiece of the Government’s upcoming strategic defence review.

Mr Osborne said:

“My spending review this week is all about security – national and economic.

By bringing forward the purchase of the world’s most advance stealth fighter jets, we will enhance our ability to respond to threats wherever and whenever necessary. With more jets on board, our independent aircraft carrier capability will be second only to our closest allies, the Americans.

These are versatile multi-role fighter jets, able to engaging in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, giving us the ability to deal with evolving threats. And of course, British businesses and workers will benefit from this decision too, which is worth £29 billion to the UK supply chain.”

While we’re in rumour season prior to the SDSR, this may simply be speculation. We’ll keep this updated as more details emerge.