UK MOD in a muddle over F-35C

[spazsinbad]

The excellent three part BBC series about 2018 F-35B trials near end of 2018 was pulled from the interwebberyyoutube.

They're BACK!....

britains biggest warship s02e01 720p hdtv x264
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyUFSNE-P2E

britains biggest warship s02e02 720p hdtv x264
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbkkNt329UA

britains biggest warship s02e03 720p hdtv x264
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uye3En8jam0

[spazsinbad]

via e-mail:

"QE due to depart Pompey this week. Heading to South West Approaches (ie off Cornwall) for CQ period with 35Bs of 207 Sqn (ie the joint OCU at Marham). Also embarked qual serials for LSOs."

[sprstdlyscottsmn]

I hope we get more great footage. The B doing a STO is just about my favorite thing to see.

[spazsinbad]

I'm hoping we get to see video of the LSO doin' his thang with closeups of the glideslope screen and other whatnots.

F-35B STOVL Explained - Beesley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwYVf6e_JeU

[spazsinbad]

RAF F-35B Lightnings Bound to Nellis AFB for Their First Red Flag Exercise Diverted To Lajes
22 Jan 2020 David Cenciotti [photos at the URL]

"Alleged[? is this a criminal charge?] fuel transfer anomalies experienced by a Voyager tanker forced the 5 F-35s to perform an unscheduled visit to Lajes. On Jan. 22, 2020, five RAF F35B Lightining [new variants?] belonging to 617 Sqn “Dambusters”, departed their homebase at RAF Marham, UK, for Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where they will take part in Red Flag 20-1, the first RF exercise for the British stealth jets.

...Accompanied by two Voyager tankers (ZZ332 and ZZ334) and supported by a Spanish P-3M (that provided Oceanic SAR coverage), the five F-35s (ZM141/007, ZM142/008, ZM144/010, ZM146/012 and ZM139/005) were supposed to refuel multiple times over the Atlantic Ocean and make a stopover at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina.

However, RRR9401 (ZZ332) reportedly experienced fuel transfer issues that made the transatlantic crossing impossible and forced the “package” to land at Lajes Field...."

Source: https://theaviationist.com/2020/01/22/r ... -to-lajes/

[noth]

Big Lizzie leaving the docks today for training ops with 207 Squadron (the OCU).

https://twitter.com/HMSQNLZ/status/1220397800053182464

[spazsinbad]

HMS Queen Elizabeth, F-35B ops in UK waters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpRwE393Ovc

[spazsinbad]

I'll let youse figure out if the video title is misleading or not.

UK unveils new multi-million pound planes - but are they worth the price tag? | ITV News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P5-QtH-qfs

[basher54321]

Ha ha - the mainstream media just cannot help themselves in measuring everything in Football pitches - which is not very useful to anyone considering the variable size of football pitches in the UK and no doubt other countries with their own pitch size standards.

[marsavian]

2020 SDSR due out soon and the initial vibes about it are that more NATO naval collaboration will be stressed without any change to the overall QE Carriers status. Defence Secretary gave a strong defense of the carriers in that video and I heard PM Boris Johnson mention their upcoming initial voyage in a speech when he was just Foreign Secretary so he is a fan too. Any savings will be made elsewhere I suspect.

[steve2267]

@ 1:35 of the video,

"... this ship delivers an equal punch to an American aircraft carrier, and it does so with a third of the crew and for a third of the cost..."

Dang... we (America) oughta hang up the Ford class and put the Brits ship building business to work.

At first I took exception to his words... but... with upwards of 40+ Lightning's aboard... he has a point. US carriers will have, what -- at most two squadrons, or twenty Lightnings, aboard? The rest being Super Dupers, which handicap the US boats compared to HMS QE and POW.

Hmmm....

[spazsinbad]

Ahhh. ALL LIGHTNING CARRIER (albeit 22-24 max) now where have I seen that concept before? Hmmm. GO GYRENES!

[marsavian]

Dominic Cummings agitating again ( viewtopic.php?p=431503#p431503 ) suggesting to buy American ...

Cummings turns fire on ‘rip-off’ BAE

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news ... -tfdftg882

Dominic Cummings has turned his fire on a new target, threatening to take on two of Britain’s biggest defence companies for “ripping off the taxpayer”.

Boris Johnson’s senior aide chaired a meeting last week on the government’s strategic defence and security review and vowed to tear up defence procurement rules.

Sources said he singled out BAE Systems, Britain’s leading defence firm, and Babcock, which is responsible for building the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers as well as a generation of submarines.

In exchanges that became “heated”, Cummings urged officials to stop funnelling taxpayers’ money into expensive projects that frequently overrun in both time and costs.

He is said to want to see fewer “bespoke” defence projects and for Britain to buy “off the shelf” from other countries.

The meeting, which was held without the knowledge of some senior figures in the Ministry of Defence, saw a showdown between Cummings and senior officials in the Cabinet Office, who questioned his approach.

In a sign of growing tensions between Johnson’s political aides and the civil service, officials pointed out that buying off the shelf would destroy Britain’s last remaining shipbuilding capability and leave the armed forces dependent on kit from America.

One Whitehall source said: “BAE was the focus of Cummings’s ire. He thinks these defence companies are ‘taking the piss’ out of the taxpayer but that approach isn’t terribly helpful.”

Officials went toe to toe with Cummings, pointing out that there was not much point in starting a strategic defence review until Britain had decided its foreign policy stance on key strategic issues such as China, Iran and the Middle East.

They also pointed out that any commitment to buy more US equipment should not be entered into from a position of weakness but negotiated as part of a free trade deal with the United States.

The exchanges were seen by those present as further evidence of a culture clash between Johnson’s team and their officials.

“Some of them are beginning to realise that governing is about more than just saying things should happen and then having them happen,” said one source.

“It’s more complicated than they first thought.”

[steve2267]

To what extent has the RN discussed tactics / teaming arrangements with the USN?

Specifically, the bigwig to whom I referred above made the statement that HMS QE and POW have more punch than a USN carrier. Would it make sense, especially given the relationship between RN and USMC aviators, to pair HMS QE and POW with USN gator navy? Utilizing USS America and Tripoli in the Lightning carrier role along with HMS QE and POW would be a helluva lot of strike power to support USMC / RM amphibious operations. USN CVBG's would then be free to conduct other operations.

On the other hand, USN CVBG may be required for gator navy fleet protection from surface and submarine attack. Dunno. Thought I'd toss it out for discussion.

If it's a dumb idea and has already been discussed, I 'spect Spaz will school me.

[steve2267]

I suppose the converse has a lot of merit too though... pair HMS QE or POW up with a USN CVBG would give that BG a helluva lot of strike power. Only disadvantage would be the shorter legs of the Brit Bees... maybe not viable against China? Hmmm...

UK needs to get those Bell V-247's or unmanned MVQ-22's toot suite to gassup their Bees...