For decades, the BAE Systems site at Warton, in my Fylde constituency, has been a symbol of Britain’s engineering excellence and manufacturing capability. It is where generations of highly skilled workers – families with fathers, daughters, and grandfathers all under the same roof – have designed, assembled, and tested some of the world’s most advanced fighter jets.
The Typhoon is not just a machine of war; it is a statement of capability. It represents Britain’s ability to produce, test, and deploy its own world-class aircraft — something only a handful of nations on earth can do. That is why the government’s recent decision to buy 25 American F-35 jets instead of British-built Typhoons is not only perplexing — it is a dangerous step away from our own sovereign defence capability.
The Warton site employs around 6,000 people. Its supply chain sustains thousands more across Lancashire and beyond. It is not simply a production line; it is an ecosystem of innovation, expertise, and national security.
Yet today, that assembly line stands perilously close to falling silent. Even with the recent export order from Turkey, there will soon be a two-to-three-year gap before the next generation of aircraft, the Tempest, comes online. In the world of defence manufacturing, such a pause is not a gap — it is a chasm. Skills atrophy, supply chains weaken, and talent drains away. Once that sovereign capability is lost, it is gone for good.
The Typhoon order that many of us had expected — an order that would have filled that gap — was scrapped in favour of the American-built F-35. For a government that has spoken so often about “sovereignty,” “security,” and “levelling up,” it is a bewildering and deeply short-sighted choice.
Let us be clear: this is not simply a matter of jobs, though the impact on Lancashire families will be devastating if Warton falls idle. It is a matter of strategic independence.
In an unpredictable and increasingly hostile world, Britain must not become dependent on foreign powers for its defence hardware. To maintain a credible sovereign air combat capability, the RAF must not only operate British-built jets — it must help develop them. That partnership between the Air Force and British industry is what allows us to innovate, to adapt, and to lead.
When we buy American instead of British, we are not only sending taxpayer money overseas — we are underwriting America’s sovereign capability instead of our own.
Defence ministers have long hinted that a new Typhoon order was imminent. As recently as early 2025, the Ministry of Defence suggested that the purchase would form part of the Strategic Defence Review. Then, without warning, that promise vanished.
So what changed? The aircraft didn’t. The requirements didn’t. The price didn’t. The only change, it seems, was political pressure from Washington. Reports have suggested that the U.S. administration has made clear that NATO allies hoping to include defence spending in their 5% target – or seeking favourable trade terms – should be buying American.
If that is what drove this decision, then we have effectively sold off part of our defence sovereignty for better trade conditions. That is not strategy; that is capitulation.
It is important to recognise that the Typhoon and the upcoming Tempest are not competing aircraft. They are complementary — designed for different combat roles. As one RAF officer described it to me: “Tempest is the big, stealthy aircraft that blasts open the battlefield; Typhoon is the agile fighter that maintains control once it’s open.”
That is why the two programmes must coexist. Tempest will not replace Typhoon; it will build on its legacy. But to bridge the gap between now and Tempest’s arrival, Britain needs to maintain a functioning production line. That requires new orders — not more delays, and certainly not more imports.
Fylde’s workers have shown remarkable resilience. Even as the line slows, they have continued to deliver excellence, driven by pride in what they build and the knowledge that they keep Britain safe. They celebrated the Turkish order not because it saved their jobs, but because it validated what they already knew — that the Typhoon remains one of the finest fighter jets in the world.
Now they are waiting for their own government to do the same.
If Britain wants to remain a serious defence power, we must stop exporting our sovereignty one procurement decision at a time. We must recognise that our industrial base — our people, our skills, our innovation — are not optional extras, but essential components of national security.
The question is simple: do we want to be a country that builds its own world-class aircraft, or one that just buys them from someone else?
Because once that choice is made, it cannot be undone.
