2023-09-15 14:57:53
The United Kingdom has sent a message about the potential that its navy accumulates with the simultaneous deployment of its two aircraft carriers on missions in different parts of the world. The HMS Queen Elizabeth set sail last week for northern waters for international maneuvers in the Norwegian Sea, where it will lead a group of warships involving half a dozen allied countries, while the HMS Prince of Wales travels towards to the United States, where it will undergo various tests and operate with different types of aircraft and drones.
During its voyage, the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, with 900 sailors on board, has incorporated F-35B fighter jets, the specific vertical landing variant for aircraft carriers, and Merlin Mk2 helicopters, now equipped with more powerful radar. In the first phase of the deployment, the carrier’s F35 fighter jets will take part in Exercise Cobra Warrior, the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) largest biannual exercise, with aircraft from Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom. United Kingdom, reports UK Defense Journal.
British Typhoon and F-35B fighters, A400M and C17 transport aircraft, and Voyager tanker aircraft will participate in the military exercise, to develop interoperability together with allied aircraft and practice integration between fourth and fifth generation combat aircraft in air, sea and land. The F-35B is a stealth fighter aircraft with short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities, meaning it can take off from land and sea on British aircraft carriers without the use of a catapult.
The deployment of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group comes just days after HMS Prince of Wales departed Portsmouth for the United States to develop some advanced operational techniques using Mojave drones, F-35B Lightning stealth fighters and rotorcraft. US Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tilting arm. This will be her longest deployment since she entered service and will extend until next Christmas. It should be remembered that the Prince of Wales has been in the workshop for nine months to repair a fault in the propeller system.
The new Defense Secretary, Grant Shapps, assures that with the simultaneous deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales “the Royal Navy sends a strong message that the United Kingdom’s capacity for aircraft carrier operations is among the strongest “Is this really the case?” some experts in the United Kingdom ask.
Criticism over loopholes on British aircraft carriers
From the pages of the Daily Telegraph, Lewis Page assures that the two Royal Navy aircraft carriers lack the catapult system, which allows the launch of a greater number and more varied aircraft. “In fact, the only aircraft that can deploy is the B version of the F-35, the jump jet. This is not as good as other F-35s and other combat aircraft in general, because it is weighed down by its weight and its “bulky vertical thrust equipment. This means it can’t carry as much fuel and weapons as a normal fighter jet. It also costs much more to buy and fly.”
So expensive is this aircraft that in 2021 the United Kingdom only had eight units of the F-35B when the HMS Queen Elizabeth is designed to carry a powerful force of 36 fighter aircraft and four radar aircraft.
Currently, the British Navy is studying the possibility of equipping its two largest ships with catapults – aircraft launch and recovery systems – to be able to operate truly capable aircraft in a war scenario.
The lack of catapults means that long-range radar aircraft, such as those used by the US and French navies, are not an option for the Royal Navy and instead “lower-flying helicopters, unable to see as far, are used.” or to operate so far from the mother ship,” writes Lewis Page, for whom “we (the United Kingdom) do not yet have a credible F-35 force.”
The lack of budget has been felt on several occasions in the Department of Defense. Recently, former Chief of the Navy Staff Lord West charged that the UK’s military runs the risk of “looking weak” to powers such as Russia and China if its flagship aircraft carrier cannot sail fully armed. “Lord West He said at the time that the absence of the F-35s on British aircraft carriers was due to the lack of missiles to arm them.
What HMS Queen Elizabeth is like
The HMS Queen Elizabeth strike group will later join NATO allies for exercises and training in the North Atlantic. It is the second time that the Royal Navy’s flagship will lead an international carrier strike group, following her deployment to the Indo-Pacific in 2021.
HMS Queen Elizabeth displaces 65,000 tons and has a length of 280 meters and a beam of 73 meters. Based in Portsmouth, she leads the UK’s 21st Fighter Group and has become a national pride, seen by the British government as a symbol of “global Britain” and the country’s diplomatic and commercial power.
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