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\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn a major milestone, the new Royal Navy (RN) aircraft carrier HMS \u003cem\u003eQueen Elizabeth\u003c/em\u003e has for the first time embarked F-35B Lightning II test aircraft at the start of its fixed-wing flying trials off the east coast of the United States. It was the first time fixed-wing aircraft had operated from the deck of an RN carrier in nearly eight years, and marks a significant step in the regeneration of the United Kingdom\u0026rsquo;s carrier capability. But it could also mark a step in a potentially wider development of naval aviation involving the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) version of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese are just the first in a series of fixed-wing aircraft trials. Officially, an initial UK carrier operating capability is still years away, and a first operational deployment for HMS \u003cem\u003eQueen Elizabeth\u003c/em\u003e is anticipated in 2021. But it would also be difficult to overestimate the strength of the symbolism surrounding this stage, of what has been a controversial programme that has regularly been convulsed by delay and indecision, with the oft-repeated\u0026nbsp;but unfair mantra that HMS \u003cem\u003eQueen Elizabeth\u003c/em\u003e has been \u0026lsquo;a carrier without aircraft\u0026rsquo;.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe controversy is unabated over whether or not the costs of the carriers (the second ship, \u003cem\u003ePrince of Wales\u003c/em\u003e, is due to commission in 2019) have unbalanced the defence budget and the shape of the RN fleet. Debate continues over whether or not they will ever embark enough fixed-wing aircraft to justify the outlay on them.\u003cspan style=\u0022color: red;\u0022\u003e \u003c/span\u003eDoubt has also been cast over whether or not they would ever be deployed in a national context (i.e. without allied support) in anything but the most benign of circumstances.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart of the issue is that it is more than generation since the UK has had anything approaching this level of naval capability, so there is little institutional memory in either the political or military establishments over the potential utility of the platforms. People will have to relearn how to employ them strategically. On top of that, they have planned service lives of 50 years, which need to borne in mind in assessing potential cost-effectiveness.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCertainly, in the early years, there will be some hard bargaining within the Ministry of Defence over the numbers of jets at sea as the UK F-35 inventory builds up. It is planned that HMS \u003cem\u003eQueen Elizabeth\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;s first operational deployment will be supplemented by US Marine Corps F-35Bs. Carrier purists argue that an effective fixed-wing air group should regularly include 24 jets to cover both self-defence and strike requirements (and corresponds, for example, to the operational complement of \u003cem\u003eRafale\u003c/em\u003e fighters that the French Navy aims to have aboard its carrier \u003cem\u003eCharles de Gaulle\u003c/em\u003e). That calculation still seems to hold for a fifth-generation aircraft like the F-35, although the concept of operating these aircraft remains a work in progress. And according to\u0026nbsp;existing plans, that should be achievable by about 2023.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOfficially, the \u003cem\u003eQueen Elizabeth\u003c/em\u003e class has the capacity for up to 36 F-35Bs\u0026nbsp;(in reality there is space for even more, if required). But the future size and shape of the UK F-35 force remains the subject of conjecture, in particular whether or not the official target of 138 jets will ever be achieved, and whether the Royal Air Force will push for a switch to a longer-range variant of the F-35. In which case, what would be the minimum number of F-35Bs to sustain an effective carrier capability? One estimate puts that number at no less than 65.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt 65,000 tonnes, the \u003cem\u003eQueen Elizabeth\u003c/em\u003e-class ships are easily large enough to accommodate the F-35C conventional carrier version of the JSF. Given this, the choice of the shorter-range F-35B STOVL variant always seemed like a compromise (and there was a brief and unhappy flirtation with switching variants after the UK\u0026rsquo;s 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review). There are further complications in that, without catapults and arrestor gear, the RN ships cannot currently accommodate support functions such as an organic inflight-refuelling capability, unless something like the V-22 \u003cem\u003eOsprey\u003c/em\u003e tilt-rotor aircraft or a potential future unmanned system is purchased.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNevertheless, the new carriers will still represent a significant step-change in capability, and offer the UK strategic options that it has not had in up to four decades. It will be a significant capability relative to most other carrier-operating nations. Even in operations with the United States, the \u003cem\u003eQueen Elizabeth\u003c/em\u003e class could bring a potent capability to bear, given that it is designed to accommodate three squadrons of F-35Bs, whereas US Navy plans currently envisage initially one F-35C squadron of ten aircraft on each aircraft carrier.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is also further potential in the possibility of a growing number of F-35B operators at sea, spreading naval-aviation capabilities among a family of large flat-top platforms not equipped with catapults and arrestor gear. This happened in a limited way when the RN pioneered operating the previous generation of \u003cem\u003eSea Harrier\u003c/em\u003e STOVL aircraft from small aircraft carriers. But the F-35 represents a huge leap in terms of capability.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe US Navy and the US Marine Corps are already exploring the potential of embarking the F-35B aboard their large-deck amphibious ships (LHDs and LHAs). And a UK team was aboard the USS \u003cem\u003eEssex\u003c/em\u003e in the Pacific Ocean recently to witness F-35B operations. The \u003cem\u003eEssex\u003c/em\u003e with its F-35Bs then entered the US CENTCOM area of operations, where there has been a carrier gap for some time, and have carried out the F-35B\u0026rsquo;s first-ever combat strike mission on a target in Afghanistan.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCurrently, Italy is the only other country definitely planning to take F-35Bs to sea. But rumours are growing that Japan and South Korea are thinking seriously about it. Table 1 shows some other countries that might be attracted by the idea if they are able to procure the aircraft \u0026ndash; and there may be budgetary and US sales-clearance issues behind that equation. It might, for example, be an option for India, whose current carrier and the next one being built do not have catapults, and even (although perhaps a long shot) France and Egypt with their \u003cem\u003eMistral\u003c/em\u003e LHDs.\u003c/p\u003e","className":"richtext reading--content font-secondary"}), document.getElementById("react_iTEvQHRqwEWp11nqztF37Q"))});
UK carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has begun fixed-wing flying trials with F-35B Lightning IIs. The US already has F-35Bs at sea. Others look poised to follow.
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