RN Aircraft Carriers: Queen Elizabeth Class

[Pelican]

The Royal Navy has announced its intention to award a contract to General Atomics to trial ‘Project Mojave’ drones onboard a British aircraft carrier.

The contract, which has a non-qualifying single-source status, is worth up to £1,500,000 (ex VAT) and is projected to span a period of seven months.

Under the ambitious Project Mojave, General Atomics is set to undertake trials and experiments aimed at showcasing the threshold capabilities of a Short Take off and Landing Uncrewed Air Vehicle aircraft.
See - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british ... 2qZoLyNG-A

Some Members may recall Capt. Kyd in a video interview over 5 yrs ago stating that the carriers would operate drones in the future.
e.g. - https://www.businessinsider.com/drones- ... ?r=US&IR=T
And - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... les-drones
Also - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUHWaRyc88c

[Pelican]

RN has signed £1.5M contract to evaluate possibility of operating Genera lAtomics MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) MOJAVE Short Take Off & Landing variant from aircraft carriers.

(Mockup image and article from last yr) - https://www.navylookout.com/could-marit ... -carriers/

[Pelican]

The UK Carrier Strike Group welcomes its new Commander, Commodore James Blackmore RN.
See - https://twitter.com/COMUKCSG/status/1661265642597543937

We bid farewell to Commodore Angus Essenhigh OBE RN and wish him good luck for his next role at UKHO.
See - https://twitter.com/COMUKCSG/status/1661038431881887749

Also - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... 05a7Rg8ES8

[Brian James]

HMS Queen Elizabeth departs the Clyde last week after embarking munitions..https://twitter.com/SheilaLWeir/status/ ... 03621?s=20

[Pelican]

PROJECT ARK ROYAL

Royal Navy Wants To Refit Its Carriers With Catapults, Arresting Wires
The U.K. has outlined a plan to get advanced fixed-wing drones, and possibly crewed tailhook-equipped planes, operating from its carriers.

See - https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/cn ... -carriers/
And - https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/r ... ting-wires

Recent Q. & A.
"Wondering if the Navy should change the 2nd batch of order to F-35C following project Ark Royal?
Please read the article post we did on Project Ark Royal. That is about primarily providing at least one catapult suitable for launch of heavy UAS (Project Vixen) - not returning the ships to full inhabited aircraft catobar capabilities. As the Colonel Kelly mentioned it might provide some options for cross decking of US or French CTOL aircraft in emergencies but thats it. Operating 2 versions of the F35 is going to add unaffordable additional costs and there is no fundamental need to change to the F35C - as we have discussed on here many times in the past. The UK is struggling to fund enough F35B purchase just now over the next 10 years but has a coherent plan to do so. Forget any such thoughts thanks."

[Brian James]

FLYCO......HMS Queen Elizabeth.

[Pelican]

F-35B on the aft lift of HMS Queen Elizabeth

[Rob Hoole]

I was afloat with one of my grandsons on Monday.

[ivorthediver]

Hallo stranger long time no hear , trust you are in good health and still enjoying life ......

[Pelican]

UK/RN CARRIER POLICY:

First, UK defence policy and its budget does NOT fund the capability to deploy both QEC carriers simultaneously with full strike air wing capability. The UK therefore has 2 carriers to best ensure that ONE can remain trained, equipped and ready for any real operational deployments and relevant big war fighting exercises 24/365. That High Readiness (HR) carrier of the two today is R08 HMS Queen Elizabeth and is maintained at 72hrs NTM (Notice to Move) for such use (obviously quicker if its already at sea). The 2nd ship (R09) is at Low Readiness (LR) and an extended 30 days NTM and as such is either in harbour undergoing maintenance or at sea for essential training and trials (often on behalf of both ships use) - and sometimes smaller duration operational and training commitments not sensibly coverable by the HR carrier. Clearly this also implies the LR carrier can substitute for the HR ship if its damaged, breaks down or worse case is sunk. But remember this means only available once it has recovered to higher readiness and availability within 30 days (in theory). Often it might be quicker than that depending precisely what the LR carrier has been doing at the time.
Second, whatever the HR or LR status of the carrier concerned it is NOT UK poli
cy to embark a standard air wing of any nature, even though the QEC were designed in detail to load up to 36 F35B and at least 4 Merlin CrowsNest (and maybe these days some Merlin ASW) aircraft.
In 2023 the RN defines a QEC carrier in strike configuration at Full Operating Capability (FOC) as having 24 F35B plus the 4 Merlin CN embarked. As yet this is not yet available from a sovereign UK only perspective and UK FOC is not planned to be achieved until early 2026 when both F35B ops sqns (617 & 809) are fully combat ready. Meanwhile all our members really need to grasp that our carrier policy (as with the Invincible class post 1991) sees that each time a QE carrier deploys be it for trials, exercise or ops, it will embark a "Tailored Air Group" which has been decided as appropriate for the deployment concerned. This could mean in reality therefore a very small number of aircraft of one or several types, or occasionally for less frequent very large exercises and CSG deployments an air wing size much closer to the FOC. This concept applies to real operational (combat) deployments too. The air wing will be configured based on the precise task the carrier will be asked to deliver against and the threats to be faced and therefore its mixture and size relevant to the contribution the carrier will be making to the air campaign to be fought. The RN's carriers are funded and designed to be used primarily as UK Joint Service "sovereign airfields" deployable worldwide to meet the task in hand, and yes sometimes that will mean a full strike (F35B) wing capability but at others a more esoteric and flexible mix, and even a helicopter only mix, if thats what the ship's mandated deployment use requires. This is not how any other carrier navy uses their carriers except perhaps the Italians and soon the Japanese, but members really need to grasp this fundamental point that drives what and when we see aboard the 2 QEC ships and why its different on any voyage and mission.
WESTLANT23 This deployment for the next few months by R09 (the LR carrier) to the North American East coast is not an operational (potential combat) deployment but one of trials, training and defence diplomacy. It is of course also to be operating in benign conditions well away from any direct threats or close to potential combat zones. You may have noticed as a result the CIWS have not yet been refitted to R09 reflecting this.
R08 rermains the HR (combat) operational carrier and as such will deploy shortly on CSG23 dedicated to a high level NATO exercise and operational presence role.
Meanwhile R09 will carry out very significant trials activities, completing (after an undesirable wait) the DT3 F35B SRVL deck landing trials (and take offs), a Full V22 Osprey deck operating limits trial, and as a clear hint to the future for the air wing configuration possibilities, some early (but not comprehensive yet) flight deck trials with the GA MQ-9B Mojave UAS (a new short take off carrier configurable brother of the Protector R1 about to enter RAF land based service). The UK will be leading the way with this activity,
The F35B SRVL trials will also be integrated with assessing the Bedford Array deck lighting system specifically developed to aid F35B safe rolling landings on the QE class. If it works as promised, it will then be fitted to R08 also during her first major refit due later in 2024.
Furthermore, the already embarked Merlin and Wildcat helicopters will use the time when available to train their associated new FAA NAS aircrew (and ground crew) on flight deck and carrier qualifications - another secondary but important task for both QEC carriers when it can be programmed in - and therefore often sensibly done so on the LR ship, more usually in close by UK waters.
So it can be seen that the UK's second (LR) carrier (whichever actual ship it is at a particular time) will often be at sea doing critical tasks associated with developing and maintaining UK carrier capabilities at all levels from the mundane but inescapable to the novel and future. If nothing else it means that notwithstanding UK Defence policy for the UK carriers we will often see them both at sea simultaneously even if only one is dedicated to being fully ready for any real operation should it emerge.
Finally a quick word about escorts and RFA support. The RN as a matter of policy only provides a full CSG escort group if the carrier concerned is leading an operational or major exercise deployment - often too in such circumstances the CSG escort group will be made up of allied ships and not just RN ones. Any other deployments or voyages may only have one suitable escort often likely to be an ASW frigate for obvious surveillance reasons given other nations' underwater nosiness. Sometimes RN carriers will transit significant distances with no escort ships at all. It has always been thus unless part of the transit is through a known threat environment. So members are advised not to keep looking for such escort groups on many occasions that the QEC are at sea. Often too of course deploying or meeting up with RFA supply and support ships is part of the escort group configuration. Again unless its a dedicated CSG deployment do not expect these RFAs to be in constant proximity to the carrier concerned. For sure as far as this Group is concerned we will update members on any escort allocation (as we always have) as soon as its publicly available from the RN.
If nothing else any member reading this should now grasp that constantly expecting either ship to be festooned with a full flight deck as for example an USN carrier is regularly seen is just not going to happen often and for very good reasons. The UK is not a world superpower navy patrolling the "5" seas with 5 of its fully combat capable CVNs to dominate, deter and be ready to deliver...that era for the RN is long over. We now use our carriers as flexible and configurable air power delivery ships, configured and ready to either deliver sovereign UK only capability if required (not likely these days) or as part of a NATO alliance or other coalition response to protect the UK and its allies' interests. Having such a flexible pair of very large carriers and easily configurable as required makes the UK a key and influential player in such circumstances.

Author David Anthony Simpson