Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of other nations buying fewer joint strike fighters than originally planned on the final price of that aircraft.

As part of the Ministry of Defence's annual budgeting cycle and in-year financial management process, the Department is constantly reviewing the unit production cost (UPC) for the Joint Strike Fighter as it affects the UK programme. Consequently, the UK is always aware of the impact of any changes in other nation's aircraft buys. The impact of changes in UPC is mitigated via financial risk provision within the programme budget.