Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the through-life cost of the F-35 programme; and on what £/$ exchange rate that assumption is based over the lifetime of the programme.
The estimate of the through-life cost of the F-35 programme is £18.76 billion. Based on the endorsed forty-eight F-35B Programme of Record, this estimate includes sunk costs (already recognised in Defence Accounts) and forecast costs (future expenditure until F-35 Out of Service Date). The sunk costs were recognised at the £/$ exchange rate when the expenditure occurred. Any forecast costs that are transacted in USD$, are converted to GBP£ using the relevant Ministry of Defence Corporate Planning Assumptions for the Annual Budgeting Cycle.