came seven weeks after No 617
Squadron was re-established at the
Smithsonian Institute, Washington
on April 18, to celebrate the
75th anniversary of the unit’s
formation and coinciding with the
RAF’s centenary celebrations.
Message of intent
Senior figures from the RAF
and Royal Navy, as well as
politicians and base personnel,
were on hand to greet the jets’
arrival. The aircraft taxied past
the press before parking line
abreast on the eastern ramp,
where it took about ten minutes
for each aircraft to shut down.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen
Hillier, the chief of the air
staff, welcomed the jets with
enthusiasm: “It’s an historic
moment for RAF Marham and the
RAF; this is the first of the next-
generation combat air capability
to be based here at Marham over
the next 35 years. What we have
is a real stealth capability – and the
ability to operate with freedom in a
contested airspace. It’s a superb
information platform, with a set of
sensors allowing it to understand,
so much better, what is happening
in the battlespace.” He
continued: “It also gives
us flexibility in our
basing options, so
we can operate
from aircraft
carriers and land
bases. The RAF and Royal Navy
coming together on the F-35
means we can project air power
around the world quickly and
successfully. I think it gives a clear
strategic message of UK intent.”
Following on from the CAS’s
comments, the Royal Navy’s fleet
commander, Vice Admiral Ben
Key, said: “This is the first time
there has been a programme
devised right from the start as a
joint operation between the RAF
and Royal Navy. If you want to
offer this expeditionary choice,
from land or sea, then involving
both services means you can bring
their strengths together. It will
be a partnership that will give the
greatest benefit to the UK, whether
it is at home or further afield.”Tougher days ahead
The jets flew 4,000 miles (6,437km)
across the Atlantic after an
early-morning departure from
Beaufort. One of the tankers
followed them to the coast, and
the other two provided refuelling
over the Atlantic. An Atlas C1
followed with support personnel
and equipment on board.
Lightning Force Commander, Air
Cdre David ‘Bradders’ Bradshaw
said of the journey: “It was a 4,000-
mile transit across the Atlantic
over eight-and-a-half hours. But
putting that into context, a lot of
our current Typhoon and Tornado
aircraft are doing very similar-lengthsorties during Operation Shader,
out of RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, flying
in the skies over Iraq and Syria
against Daesh [so-called Islamic
State]. These lengths of sortieare not unusual, but coming from
one continent to another is, so we
put a lot of effort into ensuring the
jets and personnel were ready.”
But there will be tougher obstacles
to overcome heading towards initial
operational capability (IOC). IOC
(land) is expected by the end of
the year, and another five aircraft
are planned to arrive in August to
bolster that effort. ‘Bradders’ said:
“Beyond that point we shift towards
working up for maritime-based ops.
In the autumn we will have the ‘first
of class’ flight trials conducted on
the HMS Queen Elizabeth carrierMinister of Defence Procurement Guto Bebb and Air Chief Marshal
Sir Stephen Hillier talk with the Lightning pilots after touchdown.
The MOD was keen to get as much positive exposure for the jet as
possible and provided a media facility for the arrival despite the 24-
hour delay due to poor weather over the Atlantic. Jamie Hunter
Here: An F-35B breaks from the four-
ship formation over Marham. The
initial four Lightnings to take up
home in the UK are ZM145 (BK-11),
ZM146 (BK-12), ZM147 (BK-13) and
ZM148 (BK-14). Jamie Hunter36 // AUGUST 2018 #365 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
Intel
Report