It has emerged that the RN is considering fitting catapults and arrestor gear (cats and traps) to the QEC aircraft carriers to enable the operation of Fixed Wing Unmanned Air Systems. (FWUAS) to complement the F-35B Lightning. Here we examine the implications and the considerable challenges involved.
As part of the preparations for her maiden operational deployment in May, HMS Queen Elizabeth has made her first visit to the Clyde to embark munitions.
There is a school of thought that says the Queen Elizabeth class carriers are an ‘over-sized vanity project’ and there are regular complaints that RN should have built smaller ships. In this long-read we analyse the context of their development and the case for and against the procurement of large aircraft carriers.
More
On 6th January the MoD announced it had placed a contract for production of SPEAR-3 missiles which the RN described on its website as “the principal strike weapon” of the F-35 flying from the aircraft carriers. Here we look at this weapon and the timetable for its entry into service.
Today the RN formally declared IOC for the UK Carrier Strike Group which is now at ‘very high readiness’, available to deploy anywhere in the world at five days notice.More
While alongside in Portsmouth recently HMS Prince of Wales suffered at least one major internal flood incident causing damage to the high voltage electrical system that propels the ship. The Sun newspaper has now gone public with the story and it appears the ship will not sail until Spring 2021 at the earliest.More
Last week the US Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 concluded two months of training in the UK which included three weeks of air activities embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth. Speaking to the media, the commanders of the two squadrons were upbeat about a very successful exercise.More
Yesterday two squadrons of F-35B jets took off from RAF Marham and joined HMS QueenElizabeth in the North Sea at the start of the multi-national Carrier Strike Group exercise.
The RN is about to start a multi-national Carrier Strike Group exercise while also deploying the Littoral Response Group. Here we round up the plans for the next few weeks.More