Combat Aircraft Journal looks at the latest step in the regeneration of UK Carrier Strike with the completion of F-35B operational testing from HMS Queen Elizabeth late last year.
NINE YEARS AFTER the Invincible-class aircraft carrier (CVS) HMS Ark Royal conducted its final Harrier GR9 launch in the gray waters of the North Sea, the Royal Navy (RN) has completed another major step in the long journey to regenerate the UK’s Carrier Strike capability.
Concluding in early December 2019, the ‘WESTLANT 19’ deployment saw HMS Queen Elizabeth (R 08) return to waters off the east coast of the US for further trials with the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning. While the previous year’s ‘WESTLANT 18’ deployment had been focused on ship/air integration, including an intensive program of F-35B First Of Class Flying Trials (FOCFT), the key objectives of the 2019 event were to ‘operationalize’ the new British carrier strike group, and in doing so gather evidence to support the declaration of Initial Operating Capability (Carrier Strike) — IOC (Carrier Strike) — at the end of 2020.
As a result, the deployment took on a very diff erent character. Not only did Queen Elizabeth embark UK-owned…
