82 AIR POWER 201721 ST CENTURY CAPABILITIES
21 ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIPSOperational Conversion Unit (OCU), they will all be
trained to operate the aeroplane from land and sea.”
In addition to the land-based operations that the
Lightning Force is destined to conduct, the RN and RAF
are developing their ship-based power projection role
with a much greater focus on a Task Group approach
than was previously the case during the Joint Force
Harrier days. “It is not anymore just about aeroplanes
flying off the ship,” says Gp Capt Townsend. “It is about
the carrier strike group, and that is very significant
capability for the UK and it needs joint planning.
In my two-and-a-half years in the Lightning Force
headquarters, we have had superb relationships with
our opposite numbers in the Royal Navy and in Navy
Command trying to pull together the way in which
we train, the way in which we manage the force and
the way in which we bring together the carrier strike
group so that when we do sail for the first time in
2021, we have a really credible war-fighting force.”
Relationships with United States (US) forces are
just as important, particularly with the US Marine617 Squadron (Sqn) is a Royal Air Force squadron and
809 Sqn is a Royal Navy squadron; absolutely not –
they are both Lightning Force squadrons. They are
both trained the same way, they’re able to do the
same things, they will all go to the Queen Elizabeth-
class aircraft carriers for the same amount of time
and they will all be able to operate off a land base in
the same way. When our pilots come through theThe RAF and
Royal Navy are
training with the
US Marine Corps at
Marine Corps Air
Station Beaufort
(PHOTO: UNITED STATES
MARINE CORPS/PFC
SAMANTHA TORRES)
“The USAF’s experience of
operating stealth over the
past 30 years or so is
something that we don’t
have, and that is really
enhancing our understanding”