Here we examine the recent exercise Strike Warrior, which served as a certification exercise for the UK Carrier Strike Group and a valuable training opportunity. While there were some notable achievements, this exercise also highlighted some underlying concerns about the state of the force.
More
While uncertainty surrounds whether she may eventually be deployed to the Middle East, it’s business as usual for now as HMS Queen Elizabeth will sail on Sunday 4th February to join the largest NATO exercise for decades.
More
In 2020 we wrote a piece asking if the UK was getting a “a pale imitation of Carrier Strike?” Three years on, we look again at whether the carriers are truly ready to be deployed on meaningful operations.More
In this piece, we consider the arguments for sending the UK Carrier Strike Group to join in action to protect merchant shipping from the threat of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.More
The Autumn Carrier Strike Group deployment has now wrapped up with HMS Queen Elizabeth returning to Portsmouth. Here we summarise the activities during the second phase of the deployment.
More
There has been speculation that the UK Carrier Strike Group, currently on operations in the North Sea, could be sent to the Eastern Mediterranean in response to events unfolding in Israel. For now, HMS Queen Elizabeth will stay in European waters but there are other assets that may be deployed to the region. More
HMS Queen Elizabeth and her air group have completed the first part of planned operations in the North Sea and off Norway. This photo and video essay covers the activities of the UK carrier strike group since leaving Portsmouth on 8th September.
HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed on 8th September to lead the RN’s first major carrier strike group deployment since 2021. Known as operation FIREDRAKE, the group will undertake of a series of exercises in northern European waters working closely with JEF and NATO partner nations.
More
The Merlin helicopters equipped with the Crowsnest ASaC role kit are a critical aspect of the carrier strike programme. In this article, we look at how the troubled Crowsnest development project and efforts to bring the system into frontline service have progressed in the last year or so.