http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #354 SEPTEMBER 2017 // 43
as planned, then the UK’s carrier strike
capability will be declared ready for duty
by December 2020. Britain’s decade-
long carrier strike gap will be closed.
But the new carrier strike capability will
be very different from the one that was
unceremoniously scrapped in 2010. The
new Queen Elizabeth-class carriers are three
times larger than the Invincible-class carriers
they are replacing and can carry up to 40
aircraft or helicopters. All of the UK’s land-
based and maritime helicopters have been
replaced with newer, modern versions.
The biggest difference comes in the fixed-
wing arena, with 86 Harriers being replaced
by 48 jointly owned F-35Bs. While the F-35
is far more capable than the Harrier and
for the first time will give the UK a combat
aircraft designed to incorporate low-
observable capabilities, there are fewer
available airframes. Despite the overall
long-term commitment to purchase 138
F-35s, the immediate plan is for two F-35B
operational squadrons to be available for
deployment on the carriers over the next
decade – a total of 24 frontline aircraft should
be available to go to sea by around 2023.
The aircraft will not be operated in the
same manner either. Joint Force Harrier
was a combined organisation containing
distinct Royal Navy and Royal Air Force flying
squadrons, albeit with teams of dark and
light blue personnel. The current Lightning
Force is a truly integrated organisation, with
RAF and RN personnel intrinsically mixed
together within squadrons. Some 58% of the
force will be RAF and 42% will be RN, with
both services contributing commanders at all
levels on a merit basis. This could ultimately
lead to No 617 Squadron or No 207 Squadron
- the Operational Conversion
Unit (OCU) – being led by a
naval aviator or 809 NAS being
commanded by an RAF officer.
Unlike US Navy aircraft carriers
or the previous British carriers,
there will not be a dedicated
Commander Air Group, or
CAG, to control
all the aircraft and personnel embarked on
HMS Queen Elizabeth or Prince of Wales. Ad
hoc command staff will either be embarked
on the ship to plan air campaigns or will
issue air tasking orders (ATOs) from a
headquarters ashore. When serving in the
amphibious operations role landing Royal
Marines, Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) is
expected to deploy a command team onto
the carriers to direct rotary-wing missions.
Once HMS Queen Elizabeth and Prince of
Wales are well and truly in service, there will
need to be a debate about how the ships
and their air groups will be employed. As
the name implies, carrier strike is focused
on projecting air power in the shape of the
F-35B. It may be that the aircraft deploy to
a shore base, as will the US Marine Corps,
to achieve higher sortie rates, or they may
always operate from the ship. How the new
carriers will be used in amphibious missions
is also still to be fully developed. Unlike many
other Royal Navy amphibious warships, the
Queen Elizabeth-class carriers do not have
docks or davits to launch landing craft to takearmoured vehicles, logistic trucks or large
quantities of supplies ashore. All troops
and materiel will have to be flown ashore
from the new carriers by helicopter. At
a maximum effort, 14 helicopters can be
launched in one go from the deck of HMS
Queen Elizabeth but they will be limited in
the size of the cargo and vehicles they can
carry. This has led to suggestions that the
Royal Marines will have to give up on major
Falklands-style amphibious operations,
with their focus reduced to raiding
missions conducted solely by helicopter.
The biggest question mark hangs over
how the new carriers will be used in fleet-
on-fleet naval battles. Britain’s F-35s don’t
yet have anti-ship missiles and without
them they will not be able to hit enemy
warships from stand-off ranges. Whether
or not the Royal Navy pushes for anti-ship
weapons, such as a navalised version of the
MBDA Selective Precision Effects At Range
(SPEAR) 3 for the F-35 could determine if
Britain’s new carriers will be able to take on
Russian or Chinese carriers in fleet actions.Above: The advent of the F-35B and the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers together represent a major new
power projection tool for the UK. Jamie Hunter“HMS ‘Queen Elizabeth’ and her sister ship, HMS
‘Prince of Wales’, are to give Britain a global
presence. Anywhere she goes in the world it will
[provide] Britain [with] a serious punch.”HMS Queen Elizabeth’s commanding officer, Commodore Jerry KydAFM