UK will speed up purchase of F-35 jets

In a rare display of increased military spending, George Osborne has told the BBC that the UK will significantly speed up its acquisition of new carrier-based F-35 stealth fighters. The chancellor of the exchequer also told the BBC yesterday that anti-terror spending would be increased by 30 percent. These comments precede Wednesday's Spending Review, where Osborne is expected to announce massive austerity measures that will cut the government's annual budget by around £20 billion, with the aim of eliminating the country's deficit by 2020.

The UK's original plan was to have eight F-35s in service by 2023. Now, according to Osborne, we'll have 24 of the jets, split across the UK's two new aircraft carriers, the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

"We are going to step up the aircraft carrier punch of the United Kingdom. We are going to make sure that when these aircraft carriers are available they are going to have planes that can fly from them in force," Osborne told the BBC. "By 2023, we will be able to have these jets—some of the most powerful in the world—the F-35, on the decks of these carriers and Britain, second only to the United States, will be able to project power abroad in order to defend ourselves at home."

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