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.
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
There is a consistently held view that the Royal Navy was mistaken when it chose to adopt Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (VSTOL) aircraft carriers. In this long read we look at the convoluted history of the issue and review the arguments both for and against.
More
British inventors have been responsible for many of the innovations that have made carrier aviation possible. The ‘ski jump’ was first developed in the 1970s to enable the Sea Harrier jet to launch more safely and efficiently and is a feature of the new QEC aircraft carriers, helping launch the latest generation of jets. Here we look at the history, design and purpose of the ramp.
In a previous article, we looked at the new jetty being constructed in Scotland for transferring munitions to and from Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. It is a complex subject but here we make a cursory examination of some of the weapons and their handling arrangements onboard the ships themselves.
More
In this article, we review how the design of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers evolved. This is a broad subject, worthy of several books but this article provides an overview.
More
In a previous article, we looked at the active layers of protection that will surround HMS Queen Elizabeth when she is required to sail into harm’s way. In this piece, we will look at some of the passive design features that would help preserve the ship if the worst happened and she was damaged.
In an earlier article, we considered how the RN would use layered defence to protect the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. There has been particular concern about the lack of defensive missiles fitted to the ship themselves and here we focus on the advantages and disadvantages of fitting the CAMM(M) Sea Ceptor system.
HMS Queen Elizabeth returned to Portsmouth today after 25 days away. During this time she visited Gibraltar, conducted rotary wing flying trials and met up with RFA Tidespring for her first Replenishment at Sea.More