The ongoing programmatic delays, failure to integrate weapons beyond what a Tranche 1 Typhoon carries already in a reasonable time frame, the utter disaster that is the fast jet training pipeline, demands on budget for GCAP, Typhoon upgrades etc etc means that F-35 has missed the boat...the second batch of 27 to bring the fleet to 74 by c2032 will be the last. Of course MoD won't admit this for some time, but after that all, and I mean all, of the Combat Air budget will be spent on Typhoon upgrades, unmanned systems, the inevitable F-35B upgrades and, most of all, GCAP. If F-35 had actually arrived on time, and had continued to deliver upgraded capabilities on time and budget the story might have been different....