F-35, P8 Planes in Massive UK Defence Procurement List

UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron will announce £12 billion more to the defense equipment spending taking the total spending to £178 billion over the next decade.

UK plans to build two new 5,000 strike brigades by 2025 which will have new Scout range of vehicles and about 600 armored vehicles for rapid deployment missions. Apart from that, the Prime Minister is expected to purchase nine new Boeing P8 maritime patrol aircraft for surveillance, anti-submarine and anti-surface ship warfare. The Nimrod aircraft scrapped in 2010 will likely be replaced by P8 aircraft. The aircraft will be designed to protect Trident submarines and the two new aircraft carriers.

UK also plans to extend the life of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft for an extra decade through to 2040. This will allow creation of two additional squadrons making a total of seven frontline squadrons with about 12 aircraft each.

The Typhoons will be fitted with new active electronically scanned array radar and will continue at least until F-35 fighters become operational.

In addition, the defense review also includes plans to procure 24 F-35s for the deployment on aircraft carrier, Financial Times quoted people close to the Royal Navy as saying.

“At its heart is an understanding that we cannot choose between conventional defences against state-based threats and the need to counter threats that do not recognise national borders. Today we face both and we must respond to both,” David Cameron said in the forward to the Strategic Defense and Security Review that is likely to be discussed today.

David Cameron will also lay emphasis on tackling ISIS as part of the five-year defense review. He plans to increase the counter-terrorism budget by 30 per cent, £2 billion on special forces and on cyber-defense.