© George Frey / Getty / AFPF-35 fighter jet.
Although the British military is being asked to make an estimated ยฃ30 billion ($39 billion) in savings over the next decade, the government is showing signs of fumbling yet another billion-pound program.
The confidence rating on the F-35 Lightning II program was downgraded by the MoD from amber in June to amber/red. Concerns about software, simulators and weapons could see the troubled jets delayed.
A three-page note from the National Audit Office (NAO) was made for the parliamentary public accounts committee overseeing spending on the multibillion-pound program.
Although the MoD insists the program will be kept on track, the man in charge has revised his "delivery confidence," it said.
"This reflected concerns that simulators to train UK pilots would not be representative of the UK aircraft standard, that there were delays to providing UK-specific software programming, and that the schedule to deliver the UK weapons program required further work," the NAO said.
"The department told us that the [official] revised his delivery confidence to ensure all stakeholders, and particularly Lockheed Martin, [the US defense manufacturer] are clear on the schedule challenge."
It is not the first problem to hit the F-35s.
Government officials were blasted back in August when it was revealed they will pay an extra ยฃ80 million for F-35s which had already been hit with multiple performance problems.
A dip in the value of the pound means the jets, already riddled with errors, would cost much more.
The long list of issues includes the maintenance software, problems with the ejection seat and the pilot helmet.
The UK is purchasing 138 F-35s for use by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (RAF) on two new aircraft carriers despite sweeping cuts which could see personnel numbers slashed.
The first is planned to be in operation from HMS 'Queen Elizabeth' by the end of 2020.
However, it is now being rumored the 'Queen Elizabeth' may be brought into service early to join a global effort against North Korea.
Weapons experts have blasted the MoD's ยฃ150 billion order, however, as the aircraft is plagued by an "unbelievably abnormal number of issues."
The US Government Accountability Office has raised concerns about the F-35 program in the US.
Aircraft carrier without aircraft. It surely will scare North Koreans to death.
The warship is designed to operate STOL aircraft - i.e. short take-off, vertical landing type. Without Harriers, only F35-B can do it. It seems they will be ready to deploy in the next year, but problem is their weapons won't be. They won't have their main, long range anti-aircraft missile (Meteor) till 2024 for example (it needs to be redesigned, because it's too long to fit in) and SPEAR (anti-ship missile) till about the same time. They won't have Brimstone 2 (new anti-ground missile, equivalent of American Hellfire) at all. They will have short range anti-aircraft missile (ASRAAM) and laser-guided bombs (Paveway), and that's about it. They will need more support than they will be able to deliver. Worth it? Only for propaganda uses.