Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft
Defence written question – answered on 21st July 2014.
All Written Answers on 21 Jul 2014
Angus Robertson Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Defence), Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Foreign and Commonwealth Office), Shadow SNP Westminster Group Leader
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the RAF's Joint Strike Fighter 35-Bs have all been grounded following an on-board fire on another Joint Strike Fighter; when the grounded aircraft are expected to fly again; and whether those aircraft will make the transatlantic flight to the UK this July.
Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 21 July 2014, c890W)
Philip Dunne The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence
All variants of F-35 aircraft, including the UK's three joint strike fighter F-35B aircraft, are currently under a grounding notice for safety reasons following a fire which occurred on an F-35A on 23 June 2014. A technical investigation is under way to determine the root cause of the incident. F-35 aircraft returned to flying on 16 July 2014. F-35 aircraft will not make a transatlantic flight to the UK this July.