British Naval Commander Wants US Marine Aviation on Aircraft Carrier29 Sep 2016 Andrew Chuter"ROSYTH, Scotland — The commander of HMS Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s new aircraft carrier, would like to see US Marine Corps F-35Bs and V-22s embark for up to nine months at a time once the warship becomes operational.
“We’ll certainly see some footprint aboard the ship. The big question is do they deploy with us much longer term in the future, maybe for six, seven, eight, nine months from when we deploy. That’s what I would love to see,” Capt. Jerry Kyd said.
Confirmation that the Royal Navy’s 70,000-ton aircraft carrier force would embark US Marine Corps (USMC) F-35Bs came during a meeting between UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and his US counterpart, Ash Carter, in London at the start of September.
Fallon said that eventually British aircraft could be deployed on US aircraft carriers....
...Kyd, Britain’s most experienced aircraft carrier captain, said USMC aircraft could embark soon after the F-35B flight trials were complete.
“The US has been across and looked at the carriers very closely. They seem to like what they find and they understand that making this happen is relatively easy. Now, whether they embark in 2018 I don’t know, its probably a bit too early, but certainly soon after,” Kyd said during a briefing with reporters at the Rosyth shipyard in Scotland where the two carriers are being assembled by the BAE Systems-led Aircraft Carrier Alliance.
“The strategic expectation is the USMC will embark with regularity from 2019/2020,” he said.
The opportunity to deploy USMC F-35s on the Royal Navy warship has in part been triggered by Britain’s inability to fund the acquisition of sufficient aircraft to provide a credible strike force in the years immediately following the introduction into service of the Queen Elizabeth.
Kyd admitted few British jets would be available for the first operational deployment, but he said no decision had yet been made about the final number.... [Then follows explanation]
...“Embarking USMC F-35s does get the UK out of an embarrassing position of having a lot of floating real estate with very little to go on it. But it’s convenient for both sides and there is operational utility in such a policy,” said Doug Barrie, the senior air analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank in London.
“Discussions are ongoing about the Marine Corps embarking in the future, including looking at policy-level decisions, rules of engagement, weaponry coming onboard, how many aircraft, and when, but there have been no decisions made and of course the American’s have to agree to all this,” Kyd said.
The British plan to operate the two carriers but not at the same time.
"Having the two carriers allows us to continuously run one at high readiness, and the planning assumption is the second carrier will be at a slightly lower readiness,” Kyd said.
The base design of the carrier is for a force of 36 jets and four helicopters, but Kyd reckoned the number of jets could eventually be nearly doubled if required....
...As a naval officer, Kyd said the V-22’s most important role would be its ability to provide air-to-air refueling.
“That’s really attractive to me. It extends the range and makes my deck cycle time that much easier. V-22 for me would be Christmas, although its expensive,” he said."
Source: http://www.defensenews.com/articles/bri ... ft-carrier 
03 Sep 2016, 16:07
This OLD GRIZZLED GEEZER is NOT a HAPPY CHAPPIE! 
Article mentioned is here with an 8 page PDF of it.
