UK reviewing status of 17 F-35s after Japan crash
BERLIN (Reuters) - The British Ministry of Defence is in close touch with U.S. officials and reviewing the status of its 17 F-35B fighter jets after the crash of a Japanese F-35 jet in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, a ministry spokesperson said.
"Safety is of the utmost importance and very closely managed on the F-35 programme. We will continue to review the situation as further information becomes available," the spokesperson said.
Britain, which plans to buy a total of 138 F-35 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin <LMT.N>, declared its fleet of F-35B fighter jets ready for initial combat operations from land in January.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; editing by Thomas Seythal)