Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the closure of the Typhoon fighter jet factory in Warton.
We continue to support BAE Systems in their ongoing export campaigns for Typhoon. We recognise the central role played by Combat Air in our industrial strategy and its vital contribution to the UK economy.
Over the next 10 years, Defence has plans to invest up to £30 billion on Combat Air through the Typhoon, F-35 and the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a significant proportion of which will be devoted to UK companies, particularly in north-west England.
As well as delivering a world class Combat Air fleet for our Armed Forces, this is supporting over 40,000 long-term, high-quality UK manufacturing jobs.
Recent orders placed by Spain and Italy for 25 and 24 aircraft respectively, negotiations on a potential deal with Türkiye, together with another 20 Typhoon expected to be ordered by Germany later this year, means that high-quality manufacturing jobs in BAE Systems are secure well into the 2030s.
This is because the UK leads on the manufacturing of 37% of all new Typhoon aircraft in accordance with the Eurofighter industrial workshare agreed by the four core nations (UK, Germany, Italy and Spain).
The work to deliver and integrate a new British-made ECRS Mk2 radar and integration of a new helmet called Striker II onto our existing fleet of Typhoon will also be carried out by BAE Systems Warton.