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Britain to end up with less than half of the 232 Typhoons ordered

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, April 15, IRNA -- Britain's most advanced fighter jet has been subjected to years of delays and soaring costs and is now suffering from planes being grounded after being cannibalised due to a shortage of spare part and trained pilots, according to a parliamentary report.

The multi-purpose Eurofighter Typhoon was developed in a joint project with Germany, Italy and Spain to replace the Tornado and is currently being used in Libya, who two involved in hostile action for the first time on Wednesday.

But in a damning report published on Friday, the all-party Public Accounts Committee said that Britain's air force will end up having less than half of the 232 originally ordered by the Ministry of Defence with the cost increasing by 75% to an equivalent of £126 million each.

“The history of the Typhoon fighter aircraft represents yet another example of over-optimism, bad planning and an unacceptably high bill for the taxpayer,” said committee chair Margaret Hodge.

“The MOD does not appear to be making best use of the fighter aircraft. Lack of spare forces the MOD to ground and cannibalize some fighters to keep other fighter planes in service. Lack of availability of aircraft means pilots aren’t properly trained to fly the fighter planes,” Hodge said.

The report found that Britain is expected to spend £3.5 billion more than was originally approved, that it was buying an additional 16 aircraft it does not need to honour contractual commitments to other countries and by 2019, it will scrap more than 50 Typhoon jets that became operational only three years ago.

Britain's defence budget is already facing large cuts and Hodge said it will require more collaboration with the EU partners, but warned, ”If not done well, as in the case of Typhoon, it can result in huge delays and spiralling cost increases.”

“The MOD must examine the collaborative projects it has been involved in to understand better the factors contributing to success and failure,” she said.

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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30340019