Airforces

Above: Cdr Nathan Gray

and US Marine Corps Maj

Michael Lippert, both F-

Pax River ITF test pilots,

conducted ski jump take-

offs with F-35Bs on August

28, as part of work-ups for

the FOCFTs aboard the HMS

‘Queen Elizabeth’. US DoD

6 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS

// OCTOBER 2018 #

Headlines

THE ROYAL Navy aircraft

carrier HMS Queen

Elizabeth departed her

home port of Portsmouth

on August 19 bound for

the east coast of the

United States to embark

F-35B fighters for the first

time. The 65,000-tonne

warship will receive two

F-35B test aircraft from the

Integrated Test Force (ITF)

based at Naval Air Station

Patuxent River, Maryland,

during the four-month

WESTLANT 18 deployment.

The ‘orange wired’ test

aircraft are expected to

conduct 500 take-offs

and landings during an

11-week period at sea. The

first-of-class flight trials

(FOCFTs) will be supported

by around 200 personnel,

including pilots, engineers,

maintainers and data

analysts. Weather and

serviceability permitting,

the first deck landing

was expected in the last

week in September.

The developmental trials

will define the operating

parameters of the aircraft

and ship, in a range of

conditions, and follow

successful rotary-wing

trials earlier this year.

The ITF team includes

four F-35B developmental

test pilots: three British,

one American. The British

personnel are Cdr Nathan

Gray, RN, Sqn Ldr Andy

Edgell, RAF, and civilian test

pilot Pete ‘Wizzer’ Wilson

from BAE Systems. They

will be joined by a major

from the US Marine Corps.

Exercises will also prove

the carrier’s ability to

operate with other nations’

maritime and aviation

assets, as well as landing

Royal Marines and their

equipment ashore in the US.

The commanding officer

of HMS Queen Elizabeth,

Capt Jerry Kyd, said:

“This deployment will be

another first for my ship.

Crossing a major ocean

with 1,500 sailors, aircrew

and marines embarked,

and the spectre of the first

F-35B Lightning landing

on the deck in September,

is very exciting for us all.”

Commander UK Carrier

Strike Group (COMUKCSG),

Cdre Andrew Betton, will

take command of the ship

and other units of his task

group, embarking in HMS

Queen Elizabeth with

his headquarters staff.

On departing for the US,

the carrier was joined by

RFA Tiderace and the Type

23 frigate HMS Monmouth,

as well as Merlin HM

helicopters from 820

Naval Air Squadron

(NAS), RNAS Culdrose,

Cornwall; three newly

upgraded Commando

Merlin HC4s from 845

NAS, RNAS Ye ovilton,

Somerset; and a contingent

of Royal Marines from 42

Commando, Plymouth.

The Merlin HM2s from

820 NAS joined the task

group after Exercise Joint

Warrior, during which

crews practised

anti-submarine and anti-

surface warfare, search

and rescue and casualty

evacuation. The Merlin

HC4s will provide deployed

search and rescue (DSAR)

to support the F-35B

trials and maritime intra-

theatre lift (MITL) in support

of the task group.

Operational testing,

using British F-35Bs, is

scheduled to take place on

board the carrier next year.

F-35B prepares for trials

on HMS Queen Elizabeth

Above: HMS ‘Queen Elizabeth’ departs her home port of Portsmouth, bound for the US to take

part in the WESTLANT 18 deployment. Crown Copyright

06-07 Headline AFM Oct2018.indd 6 9/10/2018 12:59:18 PM