US Marine F-35B Fighter Jet Deployment Onboard British Warship Made Official16 Dec 2016 Andrew Chuter"LONDON — US Marine Corps F-35Bs are to be deployed onboard the British Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier when it undertakes its first operational tour, the two governments have announced. British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and his US counterpart, Ash Carter, signed the deal Dec. 15 on the sidelines of a UK-hosted meeting of the coalition fighting the Islamic State group. The intention to deploy US Marine F-35s was announced in September this year, but the formal signing confirms the deal.
Both forces will operate the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing version of the Lightning II strike jet. It’s unclear at this stage how long the US Marine deployment will last or whether the service will also deploy V-22 Osprey aircraft as part of the package. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said the agreement allows for deployment planning to continue, but did not offer additional details....
...The first of two 70,000-ton carriers is now virtually complete, and the warship is due to start sea trials in the first half of next year. If things go as planned, the first operational deployment will take place in 2021....
...Queen Elizabeth is expected to start fixed-wing flight trials with three British F-35Bs off the East Coast of the United States at the end of the summer of 2018. Helicopter flight trials with the Merlin and Chinook are scheduled to take place earlier in the year....
...The opportunity to deploy US Marine 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 confirmed in September that few British jets would be available for the first operational deployment.
“We are constrained by the F-35 buy rate even though that was accelerated in SDSR in 2015, so initial operating capability numbers in 2020 are going to be very modest indeed. We will flesh it out with helicopters, and a lot depends on how many USMC F-35s come on our first deployment in 2021. But
by 2023, we are committed to 24 UK jets onboard, and after that it’s too far away [to say]," he said...."
Source: http://www.defensenews.com/articles/us- ... e-official