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HMS Queen Elizabeth: Carrier Strike Group Forms

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  • HMS Queen Elizabeth: Carrier Strike Group Forms

    Nice to see the Royal Navy now hosting the most aircraft since 1983 on a single British Aircraft Carrier, albeit not all British aircraft.



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    Read More: https://www.forces.net/news/hms-quee...head-exercises

    It's a work in progress, and quite a beast.
    Last edited by RoyalGreenJacket; 29 September 2020, 17:46.
    RGJ

    ...Once a Rifleman - Always a Rifleman... Celer et Audax

    The Rifles

  • #2
    But without either its own tankers or AEWACS aircraft.
    For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by na grohmiti View Post
      But without either its own tankers or AEWACS aircraft.
      And most of those F35s are US not UK

      Comment


      • #4
        Be fair, it’s still an achievement, especially after 10 years of Tory slash and burn...
        'He died who loved to live,' they'll say,
        'Unselfishly so we might have today!'
        Like hell! He fought because he had to fight;
        He died that's all. It was his unlucky night.
        http://www.salamanderoasis.org/poems...nnis/luck.html

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Flamingo View Post
          Be fair, it’s still an achievement, especially after 10 years of Tory slash and burn...
          It is, when you think to get where they are they first got rid of all the Sea harriers, then scrapped the Old carriers, one by one.
          Flip flop on whether there would be one, two or one and a half carriers, and once decided change from STOL to Catobar half way through design. Realise STOL is a better option and change back, even though it rules out the original plan of sharing a carrier with the French. Wait 15 years before introducing a new carrier based aircraft, by which time all the carrier skills had moved on and had to be re-learnt. Forget the mistakes of 1982 all over again and provide no ability to fuel the aircraft with its own tankers, and retire the old AEWACS heli (with much ceremony) long before the new AEWACS manages to make ts first flight.
          For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by RoyalGreenJacket View Post
            It's a work in progress, and quite a beast.
            It seems that the US pilots are very impressed with HMS Queen Elizabeth.
            Last edited by Poiuyt; 30 September 2020, 23:19.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by na grohmiti View Post
              But without either its own tankers or AEWACS aircraft.
              I don't think we will ever have those in carrier borne form, does any other Navy still have them?
              RGJ

              ...Once a Rifleman - Always a Rifleman... Celer et Audax

              The Rifles

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by RoyalGreenJacket View Post
                I don't think we will ever have those in carrier borne form, does any other Navy still have them?
                The US and France definitely

                You are getting Crowsnest (AEW radar on a Merlin)

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                • #9
                  US replaced the S3 Viking with Super Hornets but are looking to replace them with MQ-25 Stingray unmanned refueling drones.
                  It was the year of fire...the year of destruction...the year we took back what was ours.
                  It was the year of rebirth...the year of great sadness...the year of pain...and the year of joy.
                  It was a new age...It was the end of history.
                  It was the year everything changed.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by CTU View Post
                    US replaced the S3 Viking with Super Hornets but are looking to replace them with MQ-25 Stingray unmanned refueling drones.
                    And the S3 replaced the KA-6, which replaced the EKA-3.
                    Can't see the F35 becoming a tanker any time.
                    For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by RoyalGreenJacket View Post
                      I don't think we will ever have those in carrier borne form, does any other Navy still have them?
                      Royal Navy had Sea King AEW.2 with Searchwater radar on the previous carriers - Merlin replacement being developed. The Sea Kings weren't as good as a proper AEW system but they were far better than what was there before (nothing in 1982).

                      F-35 has a bit better range than the Harrier FRS.2 but Harrier could use fuel tanks. There is always the option of a buddy tank system but tanks of any description will degrade the Stealth systems significantly.
                      Last edited by Poiuyt; 30 September 2020, 18:53.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Poiuyt View Post
                        It seems that the US pilots are very impressed with QEII.
                        She is the HMS Queen Elizabeth, not QEII which was an ocean liner. moored on Dubai.
                        The name of the vessel is in honour of Queen Elizabeth I, not the current Queen. The RN does not normally name vessels after living persons.

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                        • #13
                          It's a hell of an achievement without question but there are plenty of weak links as well imo. The Merlin based AWACs is a limitation even if it's a step up from the Sea King, and further impacted by a woeful project to bring it online (seriously leaving a helo unattended for much of a year leading to corrosion issues), the long running question on how many F35 airframes will actually be bought and the kicking to touch on the new RFA hulls needed to support the taskforce leaving it still on Fort Victoria for much of the next decade.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Both of the Queen Elizabeth class have now been commissioned, the first nearly 3 years ago and the last nearly a year ago. By now they both should have their own Air Wings attached yet it seems like this will not be the case anytime soon. At the rate that the RAF is getting F-35s it is very likely that this may never happen. An Aircraft Carrier without an Air Wing is just a big floating target.

                            I was back in 2007 happy to see that the RN would be getting back its flat-tops and could understand the decision to go for the F-35B. But since then it has been down hill both for the RN and the RAF, the rate of F-35 deliveries is at such a snails pace there is unlikely ever to be enough to meet the needs of two Air Wings let alone be the replacement of the Tornado. Thus it seems that the carriers will be bases for USMC jets more than they will be for RAF, any chance of Fleet Air Arm getting their hands on the F-35 seem to have vanished. And it is not that their are many other F-35B operators that might want to use the two carriers. Italy the only other European nation so far to order the B-variant has its own carrier and when Spain finally does put in their order it will be to equip their own carrier.

                            Having put so much resources into building the two vessels it is a real shame to see that their potential is unlikely to be fully utilized. One can understand why someone like Cummings has the opinion of the armed forces he has even if if was the politicians that have made the decisions. The UK is the only Tier 1 partner on the F-35 yet the amount of deliveries lag behind some of the smaller nations such as Norway. Given the current rate of procurement it is likely that the first F-35s will be leaving service before the last batch is ordered, a commitment to order 48 out of 138 by 2023 does not bode well. At that rate the last aircraft will not be ordered until after 2050!!!

                            By now both carriers should have received their Air Wings, including the Merlin Crowsnest, remember the Sea King AEW although not perfect was put together in just 1 weeks, amazing how things get done when they need too! As for F-35s AAR, they will be seen more and more with underwing stores. It will diminish their stealth but that is only important when an enemy has the means to shoot down the jets but lacks suitable radar to defeat the stealth techno. Even without stealth the F35 can fall back on the sensor fusion to give it an advantage in a modern air combat scenario.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by EUFighter View Post
                              She is the HMS Queen Elizabeth, not QEII which was an ocean liner. moored on Dubai.
                              The name of the vessel is in honour of Queen Elizabeth I, not the current Queen. The RN does not normally name vessels after living persons.
                              My Bad.

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