Airforces

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #354 SEPTEMBER 2017 // 41

of the dockyard’s Aircraft Carrier Alliance’s
basin on June 26, and position her in the
Firth of Forth. Later that evening she
passed under the three major bridges
across the Firth to start her four-month-
long contractor trials programme to allow
her to be handed over to the Royal Navy.
Prior to her sailing, Commodore Kyd described
the complex procedure to get HMS Queen
Elizabeth out from her place of construction.
“We need high water over the [entrance to the
basin]. Then we will have to wait for the tide
to go down so we can go under the bridges,”
he said. Kyd told AFM that the contractor sea
trials were expected to take place in two five-
to six-week blocks in the North Sea and Moray
Firth areas, stretching as far north as Fair Isle.
He said the first phase would concentrate
on testing the strengths and weaknesses of
the ship and its primary systems, such as
its sewage plant, fresh water systems and
auxiliary machinery. “After five to six weeks
we will come back into Rosyth for planned
engineering work and three weeks later we
will go out for more sea trials,” he explained.
The second period will place more emphasis
on warfighting mission systems, such as
radars and radios, as well as working with
other aircraft and ships. “After that we will
transition to our base port at Portsmouth
which is ready to receive us,” he added.
“The next couple of weeks will be vital.”
During the contractor trials, the ship will
continue to be owned by the Aircraft Carrier
Alliance (ACA) and its sea trials manager
will run the activity. To support this work,
around 300 military, government and
civilian contractors are embarked on board,
augmenting HMS Queen Elizabeth’s 700-strong
ship’s company of Royal Navy personnel.
The ACA’s managing director, Ian Booth
told AFM that these plans are designed to
be flexible. “This is the largest Royal Navy
warship to go to sea for some time,” he said.
“Don’t be surprised if our plans change.”
During this first test phase, the focus will be
on proving whether HMS Queen Elizabeth
meets the Royal Navy’s requirements.
Commodore Kyd stressed that operating
aircraft was her primary function and that
he wanted to get aircraft on her deck very
soon. Indeed, an 820 Naval Air Squadron
(NAS) Merlin HM2 landed on deck on July
3, marking a significant step in the first
period of trials. Throughout the contractor
sea trials, the ship will be supported and
protected by three shore-based Merlins from
the squadron, which had carried out a major
exercise in Scotland during March 2017 to
prepare for the mission. Operating from
forward bases at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray
and HMS Gannet at Prestwick International
Airport in Ayrshire, the Merlins are on hand to
provide surface and sub-surface surveillance
around the carrier to help prevent Russian
spy ships, submarines and reconnaissance
aircraft getting too close. Two Royal Navy
Type 23 frigates – HMS Sutherland and HMS
Iron Duke, with more Merlins embarked – also
escorted the carrier as she began this phase.

Aviation trials
Once the Queen Elizabeth is formally handed
over to the Royal Navy a more complex entry-

to-service evaluation can be carried out.

From January-March 2018, rotary-wing trials

will take place in the UK before the ship heads

to the United States for fixed-wing work-ups.

According to Commodore Kyd, the first

phase of the sea trials will involve taking

measurements of the wind flow around

and over the deck as the ship undertakes

various manoeuvres around the UK coast.

Then, deck landings and take-offs will begin,

involving all of the main UK helicopter types,

including Chinook heavy-lift helicopters,

Apache AH1 attack helicopters, both variants

of the Wildcat, as well as Merlin HMA2s and

HC4s. The aim of this phase of the trials

will be to confirm the release-to-service

certificates to clear all relevant helicopters

to safely operate from the carrier. This will

mark the first milestone towards operational

readiness and will enable the carrier, if

needed, to embark on limited helicopter-

borne assaults by the Royal Marines.

The carrier is then expected to return to her

home base at Portsmouth for a maintenance

and upgrade period to prepare her for what

could be the most challenging part of her

entry to service – the fast jet trials. What

is termed a ‘technology insertion period’

will take place to install the equipment

needed to operate helicopters and F-35Bs

on a sustained basis. This includes the

F-35B’s computerised Autonomic Logistics

Information System (ALIS), which is essential

to operating the Lightning II from the ship.

“In 14 months’ time, we will be on the

eastern seaboard of the US to embark the

first Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II,” Kyd

said. “Then we will be carrying out hundreds

of landings and take-offs under different wind

and light conditions.” British and US aircraft

and personnel from the F-35 Integrated Test

Force based at Naval Air Station Patuxent

River, Maryland, will be at the heart of these

trials. For reasons of national prestige,

the first F-35B to land on HMS Queen

Elizabeth will be a British jet, piloted by a

British test pilot. The MOD is expecting this

work to be carried out in autumn 2018.

Senior officers onboard HMS Queen

Elizabeth are confident there will not be any

major problems putting the F-35Bs onto

the carrier. Many of the aircraft’s landing

The impressive 919ft

flight deck of the new

Queen Elizabeth-class

aircraft carrier.

The ship passes under the three major bridges across the Firth of Forth at low tide.