BRITAIN’S legendary Red Arrows were saved by Sir Keir Starmer today — who stepped in to stop our skies being blighted by Russian planes.
The PM swooped in to block RAF top brass from swapping the ageing UK-built Hawks for M-346s, jets originally designed in Moscow.
Sir Keir Starmer today vowed to protect Britain’s ageing Red Arrows from being replaced with a fleet designed by Russians[/caption]
The RAF was weighing up turning to Mad Vlad Putin as the Yorkshire factory that made the BAE Hawks closed in 2020 and the leading UK alternative is years away[/caption]
After The Sun exposed the “outrageous” plan, Sir Keir used a visit to the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Solihull to slam the brakes on any possible deal, declaring no aircraft “born of warmongering Russia” would touch the Red Arrows.
When pressed on whether Putin’s blood money would ever fund Britain’s pride of the skies, Sir Keir declared: “Yes, of course, that will be uppermost in my mind.
“I can give you that guarantee.
“It’s very, very important that we don’t have Russian influence in the Red Arrows or anything else for that matter.”
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Tory Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said: “I’m delighted that the Prime Minister has responded to my call for the Red Arrows to remain British.
“It’s important that he now confirms he will formally be prioritising the development of sovereign capability for procurement of our next generation jet trainer.
“Backing a British-built aircraft would be good for our economy and for the RAF’s ability to train its pilots of the future.”
Defence chiefs had been weighing a deal with Mad Vlad’s legacy designs after the BAE Hawk factory in Yorkshire shut down in 2020, and a British alternative remains years off.
Since 1954, the Red Arrows have flown only British-made jets—from the sleek Folland Gnat to the beloved BAE Hawk.
Their predecessors, the Black Arrows, soared in Hawker Hunters.
But the current Hawk T1s face retirement by 2030. The newer T2s—badly needed for training—have been dogged by engine woes and are only expected to last until 2040.
RAF chief Sir Rich Knighton admitted last November: “I would like to replace the Hawk T2 as soon as we can.”
Hope now rests with Bristol-based Aeralis, the leading UK contender, though they’ve yet to roll out a prototype.
Other options include a reworked BAE Hawk, a US Boeing trainer, or the Korean KAI T-50 Golden Eagle.
