UK MOD in a muddle over F-35C

[Corsair1963]

If, the RAF get a fair number of F-35A's instead of all F-35B's. It could spell the end for the HMS Prince of Wales.

[popcorn]

Speaking of the devil...
https://newatlas.com/hms-prince-wales-p ... ors/57431/

With the press of a button, Britain's second supercarrier hit a major milestone as HMS Prince of Wales fired up her engines for the first time. Currently being fitted out at Rosyth Dockyard in Scotland, the 65,000-tonne warship's four Wärtsilä diesel generators came online under the supervision of 40 Royal Navy and civilian engineers and pumped out 11 megawatts each, or enough to supply a town of 25,000 people.

One of the two largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy, HMS Prince of Wales is the second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier and has been under construction since 2011. However, all power used onboard has come either from the dock or portable generators, and until her own power systems come online on a regular basis, the ship is effectively just a floating hunk of steel.

[spazsinbad]

JPG via E-mail, QE Portsmouth Dec 2018 - perhaps JPALS is being installed back end port side? Deck getting treatments?

[spazsinbad]

Lloydie Lloydie Lloydie. Probably no fast fjords or South China Sea lanes for him/her whatever. Keep 'em safe out there.

2018: The year we see HMS Queen Elizabeth enter LR Class
17 Dec 2018 Lloyd's Register

"The largest warship to be built in Britain, the 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, was officially welcomed into Lloyd’s Register (LR) class earlier this year in a ceremony in Portsmouth dockyard. Nick Brown, LR Marine & Offshore Director, presented the class certificates to the ship’s Commanding Officer, Captain Kyd.

LR has been part of this project since its inception, providing a high level of support, guidance and approvals to help meet the Royal Navy’s goal to design and build a safe and reliable platform to serve the UK for the next 50 years. The technical challenges associated with the design and construction of such a complex ship engaged a wide range of technical skills and experience within LR.

Many LR surveyors and specialists have worked directly on the surveys of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier under its Naval Ship Rules. A number of other LR specialists have also been involved with the design approval, specialist technical support and certification of equipment and components.…

...LR made a significant contribution to the design, integrity and reliability of the ship and will stay with her for the next 50 years, providing a unique service as part of the waterside support team ensuring smooth daily operation and planning for cost effective and efficient future maintenance and upkeep periods. This will be in addition to LR’s usual year-round service for periodical class and statutory surveys and inspections, for continued compliance and safety.

Nick Brown added: “We look forward to staying with the ship for the next 50 years, embedded in the waterfront support team. This aircraft carrier is now, officially, Lloyd’s A1!”..."

Source: https://www.lr.org/en/latest-news/1712- ... -lr-class/

[spazsinbad]

UK Declares F-35B Initial Operational Capability
10 Jan 2019 UK MoD

"The United Kingdom has formally announced Initial Operational Capability for its land-based F-35 fleet, becoming the 5th service to declare their fleet ready for combat. UK Secretary of State for Defence Gavin Williamson MP made the announcement during an event at RAF Marham in England, the home base for British F-35s. The base has benefited from considerable investment in support of F-35 sustainment, including a new integrated training centre for pilots and maintenance crew, the development of which was led by Lockheed Martin....
&
...The Defence Secretary made the announcement in front of four different aircraft, in a brand-new maintenance hangar at RAF Marham, which he opened today along with a state-of-the-art new training centre. These facilities, along with resurfaced runways and new landing pads to accommodate the jet’s ability to land vertically, are a key part of the £550m being invested in the Norfolk base....

...The year ahead will see the F-35 Lightning pilots and ground crew continue learning how to operate and maintain the jets in the new centre, which features state-of-the-art simulators, classrooms, and physical aircraft mock-ups. The facility provides a real-life training environment replicating the challenges that both pilots and crew will face in supporting and operating the F-35 Lightning. Pilots from 617 Squadron, who are already based at RAF Marham, will practice flying the next generation aircraft from four full mission simulators...."

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defe ... -air-power & https://www.f35.com/news/detail/uk-decl ... capability

[marsavian]

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/new-raf- ... y-11603911

New RAF F35 jets to be sent to Cyprus base after being declared 'combat ready'. If initial operations run smoothly, they could be used on strike missions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria by the summer.

[spazsinbad]

The YADAYADAYADA about the mix or NOT of the next tranche of F-35s for the UK will rival the Canadian thread longevity.

UK defense chief: F-35 jets are ‘ready for operations’
10 Jan 2019 Andrew Chuter

"LONDON — Britain has declared initial operating capability on its F-35B Lightning fighter fleet in an announcement made by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson during a Jan. 10 visit to the aircraft’s new base....

...Sixteen F-35B aircraft have been delivered to the British and are currently based in the U.K. and the United States. The government ordered a further 17 fighters late last year for delivery between 2020 and 2022. The British have said they will buy 48 jets to meet immediate requirements for a joint RAF/Royal Navy force and have committed to buying a total of 138 aircraft, though officials have given only a vague time line....

...Work has been underway for some time in the ministry over whether part of the future orders for the Lightning II should include a batch of F-35A types for the RAF, with the F-35Bs being earmarked just for Royal Navy service. A spokesman declined to comment on the timing of a decision. “The first tranche of 48 aircraft will be the F-35B, which will be jointly operated by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy and capable of operating from both land and the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. Decisions on subsequent tranches of Lightning will be taken at the appropriate time,” he said.

Howard Wheeldon, a commentator on the defense-aviation sector here, said the possible mix of F-35 A and B variants was one of the items the government still needed to study to ensure a credible F-35 force. “They need to set out a clear strategy, as opposed to mere definition of intent, in respect of required capacity in numbers and requirement for both the 'A' and 'B' variants. How many U.K.-owned 'B' variants do we really need for carrier strike, and will we see U.S. Marine Corps aircraft permanently based on U.K. carriers?” he said.

The U.S. Marines are expected to fly their own F-35B from the deck of the British carrier in early deployments, in part because the Royal Navy will have insufficient numbers of its own aircraft until numbers build up....

...The F-35 is currently only armed with Paveway precision-guided bombs and ASRAM and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, but the British have plans to upgrade its strike and defensive power. “As part of the follow-on modernization program, the program will clear Meteor, SPEAR Cap 3 [medium-range, air-to-surface missile], Paveway 4 Mk3, Paveway 4 tactical penetrator and Block 6 ASRAAM” for use on the F-35, said an MoD spokesman."

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/global/euro ... perations/

[spazsinbad]

UK declares IOC Land for F-35 force
10 Jan 2019 Gareth Jennings

"...Of the 138 F-35s that the UK has committed to, 18 are under contract: nine are currently with 617 Squadron at RAF Marham, eight are with VFMAT 501 at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort in South Carolina and 17 Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California, and one aircraft is yet to be delivered. In late 2018 Williamson said that he would shortly sign a contract for a further 17 aircraft to be delivered between 2020 and 2022….

...The force will declare IOC Maritime (M) on 31 December 2020 (21 aircraft), which will add the Paveway IV fitted with the tactical penetrator warhead. In 2021 the UK Lightning Force will embark aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth alongside F-35Bs of the US Marine Corps (USMC) for the ship’s inaugural operational cruise. With HMS Prince of Wales set to enter service in 2021, full operating capability (FOC) for the F-35B will be declared in 2023, with 42 aircraft scheduled to be delivered."

Source: https://www.janes.com/article/85642/uk- ... f-35-force

[spazsinbad]

RAF Marham VL Pad 4 Google Earth via e-mail (latest google earth shows the four VL pads with No.4 marked 27 Sep 2018).

[spazsinbad]

UK F-35B and Centurion Typhoon are Combat-Ready
14 Jan 2019 Jon Lake

"On January 10 the UK celebrated the new Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning’s official entry into operational service during a ceremony at RAF Marham….. The UK actually declared Initial Operating Capability-Land (IOC-L) for the F-35B about two weeks before the planned date of December 31. IOC was defined as having nine F-35Bs with trained pilots, weapons, engineering and logistics sufficient to enable them to be deployed on operations from land bases….

...The UK has taken delivery of 17 F-35Bs, nine of which are now operational with No. 617 Squadron at Marham; three are with No. 17 (Reserve) Test and Evaluation Squadron at Edwards AFB, California; and five are with the joint U.S./UK training unit, VFMAT-501, at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort in South Carolina. One more aircraft is awaiting delivery, and 17 more have been ordered, from the initial commitment for a first tranche of 48.

The Lightning force will declare IOC Maritime on December 31, 2020, with 21 aircraft able to deploy aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth and with a Paveway IV fitted with a tactical penetrator warhead added to the suite of weapons. In 2021, the UK Lightning Force will embark alongside F-35Bs of the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) for the ship’s inaugural operational cruise. Full operating capability (FOC) for the F-35B is scheduled for 2023, with 42 aircraft...."

Source: https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news ... mbat-ready

[spazsinbad]

Lots of words words words signifying not a lot we don't know already + PHOON; however the excerpt has something 'new'?

F-35 and Typhoon Partner As RAF’s New Backbone
15 Jan 2019 Tony Osborne

"...Current planning calls for a 50:50 live and synthetic blend of training. British F-35 pilots are expected to log 25 flying hours per month, split equally between the simulator and the real thing....

...A British F-35 flying an operational test and evaluation in the U.S. dropped five Paveway IV precision-guided bombs on five different ground targets simultaneously.

As well as the expected deployment, the next major milestone will be a third round of so-called first-of-class flight trials, which will see British F-35s embarking on the Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier this summer to support operational testing on the ship. So far only U.S. developmental test aircraft have embarked on the Queen Elizabeth.

Officials have not yet decided how many aircraft will be embarked on the ship, but Royal Navy personnel say they hope to fly four-ship missions during the voyage. This will help pave the way for an IOC for carrier operations at the end of 2020. Full operational capability is not anticipated until 2023, by which time the UK will have four squadrons, two front-line units and a training squadron in the UK; a test and evaluation unit will be located in the U.S...."

Source: http://aviationweek.com/defense/f-35-an ... w-backbone

[mixelflick]

Well, they did it. Here's to the RAF, the Royal Navy and the UK and her men in general.

They don't appear to in a muddle over the F-35C any more LOL. I think they're doing the smart thing; splitting their orders between the A and B variants. The A/B split is becoming popular; In addition to the US, Italy, Japan and I guess Australia now is looking at that mix? Singapore too??

Looks like the C will only be operated by the US Navy/Marines, and will likely stay that way for some time. Nobody else except the Chinese operating fixed wing flat tops. And they're not getting it. At least not finished production versions LOL. They did steal some info, but I understand it wasn't as bad as it could have been...

[marsavian]

Looks like the C will only be operated by the US Navy/Marines

and this is where having a Joint strike fighter production line comes in useful in the future, these can be bought at any time in the future along with B at a buyer's leisure as long as the main selling variant A is still being produced and I don't see that going out of fashion anytime soon.

[noth]

Well, they did it. Here's to the RAF, the Royal Navy and the UK and her men in general.

They don't appear to in a muddle over the F-35C any more LOL. I think they're doing the smart thing; splitting their orders between the A and B variants. The A/B split is becoming popular; In addition to the US, Italy, Japan and I guess Australia now is looking at that mix? Singapore too??

Looks like the C will only be operated by the US Navy/Marines, and will likely stay that way for some time. Nobody else except the Chinese operating fixed wing flat tops. And they're not getting it. At least not finished production versions LOL. They did steal some info, but I understand it wasn't as bad as it could have been...

The French might have something to say about that. The Charles de Gaulle is out of it's mid-life maintenance period: https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/ ... -de-gaulle

[mixelflick]

Honestly... do you see the French swallowing their pride and buying American again? Something tells me they'd opt for a "stealthed up" Rafale before admitting.... the F-35 is their only real option.

OTOH if it did transpire, it'd be the ultimate feather in LM's cap and may open India's eyes...