The next generation of fighter aircraft for the RAF and the Royal Navy have landed at their new home in Marham, Norfolk. The F-35 Lightning stealth warplanes each cost nearly £100m. Britain has 15 of the short take-off and vertical landing aircraft and will buy 138 in total from American aviation giant Lockheed Martin.
They will former part of the newly re-formed 617 Squadron which was the famous Dambusters flying unit from the Second World War. They will operate on land and at sea including off the decks of the new £3.1 billion Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
The first four F-35s were flown 3,000 miles across the Atlantic from South Carolina on an eight hour journey supported by mid-air refuelling. Around £550m has been invested in RAF Marham as part of a major change programme to get the base ready to house the new jets. – ITV News
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