carrier (QEC). These will be conducted o
the east coast of the US.
BAE Systems F-35 test pilot Peter ‘Wizzer’
Wilson is set to play a crucial role in the
QEC trials, having been embedded in
the previous US Marine Corps ship trials.
FOCFT will serve to endorse the complex
modeling that has been completed to
pave the way for the F-35B to operate
from the new UK carriers, which are the
rst to be built speci cally for the F-35.
The trials will start in relatively
benign fashion. The rst embarkation
in September is designed to provide
su cient clearances to enable the
declaration of UK IOC in the maritime
environment. The second phase will
give ‘initial eet clearances’, while the
third is expected to pave the way for ‘full
capability’. The third phase in 2019 will also
include operations in sea state six with
50kt of wind over the deck, big crosswinds
and the ship pitching and rolling.
Air Cdre Paul Godfrey is the head of the
carrier-enabled power projection (CEPP)
team. Its mandate is to ensure that thetwo new British aircraft carriers are aligned
with the various projects — with the right
capabilities in place — to enable the UK to
fully realize this impressive new air power
instrument. That includes the carriers
themselves, plus the new Crowsnest
airborne early warning system on Merlin
helicopters, and of course the F-35s.
The big e ort is Carrier Strike Group
2021, which will bring together the
RAF, RN and US Marine Corps for the
rst operational maritime deployment.
Godfrey says he expects the UK Lightning
Force and the marines to come together
for an air wing work-up at the end of 2020,
ahead of the joint deployment.
The UK hasn’t operated a large-deck
aircraft carrier since 1978. However,
the STOVL F-35B uses corporate
knowledge from Joint Force Harrier.
‘The F-35 is simple to operate’, Godfrey
said, explaining that the ‘cat and trap’
operations of the US Navy are a ‘whole
di erent ball game’, and that much of
the F-35 work around the carrier can be
rehearsed e ectively in the simulator. ‘WeThere are other
contributing factors
to UK future fast jet plans,
including a sixth-generation
fi ghter concept that has been
revealed under ‘Team Tempest’,
with BAE Systems looking to
take a ‘leading role’
will be taking four full-mission simulators
aboard the carrier’, he says, ‘so four
pilots can train together in a synthetic
environment, keeping the boxes ticked in
terms of quali cations and mitigating the
usual skill fade that we’ve seen in the past
during deployments.’
The UK expects to operate the two
carriers for the next 50 years. There are
so many elements of that journey, and
the 2021 deployment will be just the
rst phase. F-35Bs will be working up to
ying shipboard rolling vertical landings
(SRVLs) to enhance ‘bring-back’. Aircraft
may y from the carrier in a ‘night one’
stealthy con guration, the next day
slapping on pylons and external stores in
a close air support (CAS) t. There is still
talk about the possibility of an organic
tanker aircraft. However, the F-35B’s
operating procedures mean getting
aboard the carrier is far more predictable
than traditional cat and trap operations,
arguably canceling out the need for
fuel on demand in the pattern above
the carrier.Above: Initial IOC
weapons for the
UK F-35B include
the AIM-132
ASRAAM (being
fi red here) and
Paveway IV
(loaded under the
wings).
Lockheed Martin/
Andy Wolfe
Above left: RAF
and RN engineers
met the fi rst
British jets as
they arrived at
Marham on June- The F-35Bs
were in Block
3FP6.2 software
confi guration.
Jamie Hunter
42
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