http://www.defencemanagement.com/news_story.asp?id=18662
UK considers Rafale and F-18 as "interim aircraft"
26 January 2012
Ministry of Defence concerns over the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have led to military chiefs looking at other fast jets for the UK"s aircraft carrier, it has been reported.According to The Times, Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, the current commander-in-chief fleet, said concerns were growing about rising costs and delays in the JSF programme, something now worsened by order cuts from the US.
Soar, who was addressing defence companies at the ADS Maritime Interest Group, reportedly said the UK might not receive the $100m per piece F-35 jets until a decade after the delivery of the carrier, currently set for 2019.
He was said to be considering the French Dassault Rafale and the US F-18 Super Hornet to give Britain an "interim aircraft capability".
Soar indicated that the JSF would be a major talking point at the next strategic defence review in 2015, the report said.
***UPDATE***
Rees Ward, CEO of ADS, has since said that The Times" reporting of the comments had been "inaccurate".
"The Admiral"s comments were wrongly attributed and in certain cases not even raised during the course of his speech or at the event itself as the article alleges," said Ward.
"Had the journalist sought to contact ADS, we could have verified whether these comments were made, but their lack of contact suggests they have accepted at face value the second hand reporting of what has turned out to be an unreliable source. In doing so they have potentially damaged the reputation of a senior member of our armed forces - certainly they have thrown into question their own personal credibility and ultimately the paper for which they write."