Ministers have been warned not to let the Typhoon fighter jet production line “go cold” amid rising anger over plans to replace the aircraft with American warplanes.
Union chiefs are concerned that no Typhoons are currently being assembled in Warton, Lancashire, and that future orders are not coming in.
UK military chiefs are pressing ahead with plans to buy American-made F-35A fighter jets.
The unions also believe the Eurofighter Typhoon programme delivers £2billion to the UK economy.
Shadow Armed Forces minister Mark Francois said: “The Typhoon has been a marvellous international success story and it still forms the backbone of the RAF.
“We cannot allow the Typhoon production line at Warton to go cold – and therefore it is vitally important to secure some of these potential outstanding export contracts as soon as possible, not least to maintain the skills base on Typhoon manufacturing as we look towards the Tempest fighter in the future.”
Union chiefs raised their concerns in a letter to Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, chairman of the Hosue of Commons Defence Select Committee.
It said: “There are currently no Typhoons being final assembled at Warton and no orders for future aircraft, essentially production has stopped for British-built Typhoon aircraft.
“The UK industrial position on the programme is due to the sovereign Intellectual Property and direct investment that the UK brought as a Tier-1 partner so if the UK decides to acquire no more F-35s this will not impact the economic return to the UK from the wider programme.”
Unions warn that halting the Typhoon production could “end design, manufacture and assembly of fast jets in this country”, harming the UK’s sovereign capabilities.
“A domestic order will not only fulfil a requirement for the RAF in these unstable times but will also ensure that vital skills required to build the next-gen aircraft, GCAP, are retained at Warton Unit.
“Typhoon manufacturing is currently underpinned by the orders from Qatar, Germany and Spain which will ensure continuity of production of major units beyond the late 2020s. Further orders are needed to extend production beyond the latter part of this decade.”
The unions argued the Ministry of Defence must purchase 24 Typhoon jets, adding that the UK is the only partner nation in the Eurofighter consortium not yet committed to purchasing new aircraft.
They added that losing the Typhoon programme would damage national security, suggesting that the loss of this production capability would damage the UK’s standing in international defence partnerships.
It added: “We are the only partner nation in the Eurofighter consortium that hasn’t committed to buying new aircraft.
“A domestic order will give other nations considering buying Typhoon off the UK (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Poland amongst others) the confidence to invest in the platform providing export revenue to the country and ensuring the longevity of our sites.”
