Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment she has made of the merits of the recent agreement between Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon on the F-35 aircraft; what the timetable is for the purchase of the 138 F-35 aircraft; and whether all those aircraft will be of the F-35B variant.

We welcome the announcement of the agreement between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin for the delivery of a further 478 F-35 Lightning aircraft across the international programme. Once formally finalised and on contract, it should deliver the lowest aircraft prices on the F-35 programme to date.

The Ministry of Defence's current approval is for the delivery of the Tranche 1 fleet of 48 F-35B aircraft, which are all expected to be delivered by 2025.

Decisions on subsequent tranches and aircraft variant will be taken at the relevant time to ensure the most appropriate capability for our Armed Forces and best value for money.