UK Wins $641 Million Global F-35 Support Contract

A £500 million (US $641 million) contract has been awarded to an aircraft repair hub in North Wales to repair F-35 fighter plane components.

The UK’s role as a leading partner on the global F-35 programme has received another boost, after the F-35 avionic and aircraft component repair hub in North Wales was awarded a second major deal worth £500m by the US Department of Defense, the UK MoD said in a statement Tuesday.

MoD Sealand will maintain, repair, overhaul and upgrade hundreds of F-35 fighter jet systems. The assignment is expected to begin in 2020 and support hundreds of high-tech jobs.

The winning solution builds on the innovative joint venture formed between the MOD (DECA), BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman called Sealand Support Services Ltd (SSSL). SSSL support work and services for F-35 are scheduled to commence from 2020.

It will see crucial maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade services for an even wider range of F-35 avionic, electronic and electrical systems for hundreds of F-35 aircraft based globally.

In 2016, the UK was chosen by the F-35 Program Office to be a global repair hub to maintain the aircraft.