combat aircraft

UK CARRIER STRIKE IS BACK

T

HE SUPERB PHOTOGRAPH on

these pages  ashed around the

world in October, spreading

the word about the  rst  ight

trials by the F-35B Lightning II

aboard the new British aircraft

carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. It represents

a huge moment for British air power

projection as  xed-wing carrier operations

resume after an eight-year hiatus.

This period of testing marks the

culmination of a major e ort to bring

together a £6-billion carrier program

with the stealthy F-35B, and is a massive

step up in sovereign capability for the

UK. Despite its critics, the British carrier

program — comprising two new ships

— comes in far cheaper than a US Marine

Corps assault carrier, not to mention

the new Ford-class US Navy ships. It will

herald the arrival of a potent strike force,

which will debut in 2021 with the joint

deployment of Royal Navy/Royal Air Force

and US Marine Corps F-35Bs aboard the

Queen Elizabeth.

While the carrier integration trials have

continued at a rapid pace, behind the

scenes the UK Lightning Force is making

far quieter progress back at RAF Marham

with the nine F-35Bs of No 617 Squadron

that have thus far arrived in the UK. Early

 ight operations here were hampered

by integration and security issues

surrounding the aircraft’s mission systems

and logistics, which led to sporadic

mission scheduling.

British domestic F-35 operations now

appear to be ramping up. Indeed, as these

words were being written, news broke

of the  rst refueling hook-up in the UK

between a No 617 Squadron F-35B and an

RAF Voyager tanker.

With formal operational testing for the

entire F-35  eet due to start in the US

during November and the UK declaring

initial operational capability the following

month, the complexity of the Lightning

II and its many supporting pillars are

 nally on the verge of bringing about a

meaningful degree of operational output

for the British armed forces. This will

come as a welcome complement to the

slick public relations messaging that is so

intrinsically linked to this project.

To keep track of the latest breaking

news and analysis in the world of

military air power you can visit our

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http://www.combataircraft.net

You can also sign up for our free e-mail

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Jamie Hunter,

Editor

E-mail: [email protected]

J

ames DEBOER

IS a military

photojournalist based

in New York City and

has covered many squadrons

and exercises during his

10-year career. Having

accumulated more than

250 hours in various military

aircraft, James strapped into

an F-16D for his feature on

‘Ample Strike’ in this issue.

CONTRIBUTOR OF THE MONTH

JAMES DEBOER

A fabulous shot
from the fl ight
deck of the HMS
Queen Elizabeth
during the recent
F-35B trials.
Lockheed Martin/
Dane Wiedmann

http://www.combataircraft.net // December 2018 05