£76 million investment to support UK F-35 fleet at RAF Marham

New funding will upgrade facilities at RAF Marham to support the growing UK F-35 fleet.

As part of a contractual agreement, BAE systems will lead a 170 plus industry team to carry out the two year work which is estimated to value £76 million.

The contract will provide aircraft upgrades, maintenance, synthetic and maintainer training on-base.

RAF Marham have said this will enhance planning and training services for the UK’s F-35 fleet.

Edward Sheldon, RAF Marham site lead, said: “As part of Lightning Team UK, our priority is to ensure our support solution at RAF Marham remains world-class to enable the deployment of UK jets whenever and wherever they are needed.

“The collaboration between Defence Equipment and Support, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and industry is critical in achieving this and through the next phase of support at RAF Marham, we’re able to strengthen our UK sovereign capabilities by enhancing the services we provide.

“Through this continued investment and by working together, we can ensure the F-35 Lightning is available for the UK’s carrier strike operations and is ready to support allied operations anywhere in the world.”

The training and maintenance at RAF Marham will prepare the UK F-35 jets for their first operational deployment aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth this year for the UK Carrier Strike Group. This combines helicopters, submarines and fighter jets.