diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 1fe21a1b..4ebedcf9 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -160,10 +160,10 @@
     </distributionManagement>
 
     <properties>
-        <!-- Drop back to java 8 to allow with spotbugs -->
-        <java.version>8</java.version>
-        <java.release.version>8</java.release.version>
-        <javadoc.java.release.version>8</javadoc.java.release.version>
+        <!-- Align java runtime with spotbugs -->
+        <java.version>11</java.version>
+        <java.release.version>11</java.release.version>
+        <javadoc.java.release.version>11</javadoc.java.release.version>
 
         <sourceDirectory>${project.basedir}/src/main/groovy</sourceDirectory>