Navy plans to lease warplanes from US

London: Britain will be forced to borrow US warplanes to fly from the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers because of defence cuts.

The Navy's Harrier Jump Jets — the aircraft that won reknown in the Falklands conflict — are to be retired early leaving the two new carriers with no aircraft when they come into service.

Under the plans, the US Marines would be invited to fly from the British carriers in joint operations and the Navy is also examining the prospect of leasing aircraft from the Americans.

Major costs savings are necessary because the Treasury budget for the carriers only covers the costs of building an empty shell — leaving no money for the aircraft to fly from them.

A senior military source said: "The US Marines have the aircraft. Their aircraft would fly from the British carriers. Or we could borrow some from them. The Treasury are happy to pay for the carriers but there's an issue over the cost of the aircraft."

Retirement due

The carriers are due to enter service in 2014 and 2016 respectively and the remaining Harriers are currently due to be retired in 2018.

But bringing that date forward, which would save more than £1 billion (Dh5.6 billion) and could happen as early as the end of next year, would leave the Navy with a capability gap that would have to be filled by the Americans before Joint Strike Fighter aircraft become available in 2018.

Rather than salami slice kit from every area, Defence Secretary Liam Fox has decided to give up major capabilities that let Britain fight wars alone, and rely on American support in future conflicts instead.

Harrier jump jet

The British Harrier Jump Jet was the first in the world to be able to take off in a very short distance and land vertically without a runway.

A mainstay of the Fleet Air Arm since 1960, its finest hour was the 1982 conflict to recover the Falklands, when the planes shot down 20 Argentine aircraft without suffering a single loss in return.

The Harrier's primary role is air defence, operating from Royal Navy aircraft carriers. It was instrumental in protecting the Falklands Task Force from serious losses at the hands of the Argentine air force.

The last Sea Harriers operated by the Fleet Air Arm were withdrawn from service in 2006, leaving Navy and RAF pilots using the GR9 ground attack variant of the aircraft.

There are 45 Harriers left, but the jet is due to go out of service by 2018 to be replaced by a variant of the US-made Joint Strike Fighter.