UK MOD in a muddle over F-35C

[zerion]

QE pilot arrival blooper reel

https://mobile.twitter.com/navylookout/ ... 5810566144

[spazsinbad]

QE pilot arrival blooper reel
https://mobile.twitter.com/navylookout/ ... 5810566144

Video posted earlier on 17th Oct: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=15969&p=428551&hilit=fantastic#p428551 page 146 this thread.

[zerion]

[spazsinbad]

UK, US Enter New Era: ‘Unprecedented’ Carrier-Sharing Plan [more about USMC at the jump]
21 Oct 2019 Paul McLeary

"“We’re not talking about interoperability anymore, we’re talking about proper integration to a level we’ve never seen,” Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Jerry Kyd told me on the deck of the UK's new carrier.

ABOARD HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH: For the first time, a US Marine Corps F-35B squadron will deploy aboard the UKs new aircraft carrier on its maiden voyage in 2021, a milestone hailed as “unprecedented” — even among close allies.

“We’re not talking about interoperability anymore; we’re talking about proper integration to a level we’ve never seen,” British Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Jerry Kyd told me on the deck of the carrier as it launched and recovered aircraft during an exercise in the Atlantic.

The integration of Marines into the British carrier’s operations from Day One is “unprecedented,” he said. “It would be hard to think of another two countries on the planet who can do that right now.”

As Kyd and fellow Royal Navy officers praised the “special relationship” between Washington and London during a recent visit to the ship, the US Navy’s top admiral was half a world away, using much the same language to pitch his own ideas for closer linkages between allied navies.

“Today, the very nature of our operating environment requires shared common values and a collective approach to maritime security,” Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mike Gilday, told a seapower conference in Venice....

...Kyd, who commanded the Queen Elizabeth last fall when she ran weeks of trials off the US east Coast, is now responsible for overseeing all operational elements of the Royal Navy. Last year’s deployment saw the Brits flying US-based F-35s, but just this past week Royal Navy pilots began flying their own F-35Bs from the ship, becoming the first non-US pilots to own and fly carrier-based Joint Strike Fighters....

...“We are learning how to fight a carrier strike group beyond the jets for the first time,” Commodore Michael Utley told me. The new ship, flying new aircraft, “is a huge step forward. It’s not just a return,” to carrier operations, he said....

...“This aircraft carrier for the UK is strategic, not just in terms of scale — she’s the biggest carrier we’ve ever had — but she’s interoperable with the US Marine Corps and again it’s that trust. You can’t surge trust,” Kyd said....

...With the QE in the fleet, “we’ve jumped into a much more sophisticated networked environment, and together [with the US] there’s huge potential in the next 4 to 5 years to really squeeze out the maximum from this very advanced aircraft that we couldn’t even think about 10 years ago,” Kyd said...."

Source: https://breakingdefense.com/2019/10/uk- ... ring-plan/

[spazsinbad]

F35B on QE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCISu3GSHIg

[mixelflick]

Following the Smithsonian channel's special on this, "Rise of the super-carrier" or some such title. Pretty good series, but soooo dated. They just celebrated the first helicopter landing I think, at least the last episode I saw.

Anyway, good to see the Brits back in the carrier aviation business. I suppose that's 2 more carriers we can count on now if things really get ugly..

[spazsinbad]

FDO Flight Deck Officer earpiece OR mask for radio contact comes adrift? Dunno. Zoom from above pics.

[zerion]

[spazsinbad]

THE FING WOT FLEW OFF HELMET JPG

[spazsinbad]

Royal Navy topbrass says reviving carrier group has been an 'uphill struggle'
21 Oct 2019 Tom Cotterill

"...The state-of-the-art warplanes first touched down on the carrier’s flight deck last year during previous trials off the American coastline. However, naval chiefs have insisted this year’s tests are vastly different and more aimed at integrated the jets with the taskforce of ships for the first time through various exercises and war games.

Captain Steve Moorhouse, commanding officer of Queen Elizabeth, said: ‘The scale of complexity has now turned up another degree. ‘Now we’re integrated the jet at the same time as rotary wing (helicopters) and Type 45 and Type 23 operations. So it’s much more realistic carrier strike operations and we’re really turning the tempo up.

‘We’re looking at the end-to-end capabilities now. That’s everything from fuelling and arming the aircraft, planning and preparing the missions, launching the jets and then going either ashore to US ranges or conducting warfare serials at sea that are representative of what you would expect us to be able to do on operations around the world.’ For the past week, F-35 pilots have been getting used to the ship, carrying out training landings and takeoffs before moving onto more advanced maneuvers and exercises next month.

Lieutenant Commander Matt Fooks-Bale is one of the F-35 pilots embarked on Queen Elizabeth. The former Harrier pilot said the jets were in a different league to anything he had flown before and had forced his team to rethink how they operated. ‘When you combine all that situational awareness from the F-35 with its various sensors and it’s low-observable characteristics it makes a huge difference,’ said the 38-year-old aviator. ‘It really does transform the way you think and the way you operate. We’ve had to build new tactics around it to really maximise what we can do with the F-35 because it is a huge step forward in capability.’ But he added the training process was being taken at a steady pace. ‘We’re adopting a very much crawl-walk-run approach to training – we’re very much in the crawl phase,’ he said.

In the coming weeks, Queen Elizabeth is expected to embark two more British F-35s, bring the total number of UK-owned jets to six. They will also be joined by a small contingent of US Marine Corps F-35 - which will be joining the supercarrier on her first operational deployment in 2021 - bring[ing] the total number to more than 10.

Capt Moorhouse stressed the next five weeks would be crucial in the programmes next phase, expected to be held in UK waters next year. ‘This is the first step in a 40-year capability. So it’s a really important moment and the more comfortable and interoperable we are at the end of this package the better,’ he said."

Source: https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/defen ... -1-9114574

[doge]

F35B on QE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCISu3GSHIg

jpg

A series of videos and photos posted...It's like a movie one scene. (Cooool)
From QE Twitter account.
This is UK F-35B in Beast mode.
https://twitter.com/HMSQNLZ/status/1187077336669261824

[spazsinbad]

Perhaps this is an OVERstatement for an F-35B? Have not we puzzled over these numbers endlesslessendly? I GIVE UP!

"UK Lightning in 'Beast' mode onboard the future Fleet Flagship - a defining moment on the road to operational Carrier Strike capability. Up to 22,000 lbs of firepower; inert Paveway laser-guided bombs and ASRAAM air-to-air missiles. We wouldn't mess with it either #WESTLANT19 https://twitter.com/HMSQNLZ/status/1187077336669261824

Oh I see there are various comments 'bout WEIGHT at URL in quote: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EHlilVqXkAAlplE.png

[marsavian]

F35B on QE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCISu3GSHIg

jpg

A series of videos and photos posted...It's like a movie one scene. (Cooool)
From QE Twitter account.
This is UK F-35B in Beast mode.
https://twitter.com/HMSQNLZ/status/1187077336669261824

https://theaviationist.com/2019/10/24/i ... t-carrier/

Under the hood

[botsing]

Under the hood

It all looks so new and splendid! Lovely!

[spazsinbad]

In a galaxy far far away 'zerion' gave us the same photo on page 147 of this thread (albeit no other text - which is weird):

viewtopic.php?f=58&t=15969&p=428657&hilit=EHGYTHqX4AEM5Bh#p428657