WESTLANT 23

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Lt Cdr David Fleming, RN (on exchange with USCG) lands USCG MH-65E helicopter on the deck of HMS PWLS

See - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 7660411247

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British aircraft carrier arrives in the United States

Includes: “Once the work with the F-35s is complete, focus will shift again to the next-generation of Short Take-Off and Landing drones currently under development. The Mojave drone can carry a 1,500lb payload of missiles, rockets or bombs and has been specifically designed to land and take-off from short runways, or flight decks. Trials are lined up to see whether the Mojave can land on the 901ft-long deck of the Prince of Wales. The carrier’s stint Stateside will conclude by expanding the US Marine Corps’ unique tilt-rotor MV-22 Ospreys operating limits.”

See - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british ... y_QTXH8ULo

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Procession of helicopters land on HMS Prince of Wales during United States mission

A Royal Navy pilot landing on a Royal Navy aircraft carrier.

Nothing unusual about that…

Except, Lieutenant Commander Bob Fleming was at the controls of an armed US Coast Guard MH-65E Dolphin helicopter used for intercepting drug smugglers.

The Fleet Air Arm officer is on exchange with the USCG’s Helicopter Interdiction Squadron (HITRON) and had the opportunity to land on HMS Prince of Wales as the carrier continues her mission off the east coast of the United States.

Continues at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... elicopters

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HMS PWLS arriving at Naval Station Norfolk yesterday in grey and overcast conditions.

The ship is being hosted by Carrier Strike Group 10 & USS George H.W. Bush.
Norfolk will be her temporary homeport while conducting a series of flying trials off the east coast of the US this autumn.
Short video at - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 9196104167

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HMS PWLS sailed from Naval Station Norfolk yesterday to begin the first of a series of developmental flying trials.

She will operate out of Norfolk for the next couple of months.

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BF-18 Flt 575, USMC Test pilot, Maj Paul Gucwa from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) flies an F-35B aboard HMS Prince of Wales in support of the final First of Class sea trials for F-35B test (DT-3) on 11 October 2023.

The U.K. Queen Elizabeth-class (QEC) aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09)’s participation in WESTLANT 23 encompasses a range of U.K. and U.S. naval aircraft trials in the Western Atlantic throughout the autumn of 2023.The HMS Prince of Wales continues to push the boundaries of naval aviation capabilities and operations from QEC aircraft carriers, including increasing the range and lethality of F-35 operations. The U.K. is the only Tier I partner in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program. U.K. and U.S. interactions during this deployment are characterized by cooperation and reinforce international relationships, as well as enhance interoperability between the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy.

The F-35 Joint Program Office is the U.S. Department of Defense's focal point for the 5th-generation strike aircraft for the Navy, Air Force, Marines, and our allies. The F-35 is the premier multi-mission, 5th-generation weapon system. Its ability to collect, analyze and share data is a force multiplier that enhances all assets in the battle space: with stealth technology, advanced sensors, weapons capacity, and range. The F-35 has been operational since July 2015 and is the most lethal, survivable, and interoperable fighter aircraft ever built.

(US Navy photo by Dane Wiedmann)

Source - https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8066057/ ... ince-wales

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F-35B with internal, external weapons flight test aboard Britain's biggest warship

Video at - https://www.dvidshub.net/video/900470/f ... ijs6F1Yi9k

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HMS Prince of Wales’ fully-laden F-35 paves way for future carrier strike ops

Meet the Beast from the East(ern Seaboard).

Marshalled on the deck of HMS Prince of Wales off the US East Coast, this is an F-35B fully loaded. To the max. Topped out. Maximum effort.

It’s known in naval aviation parlance as ‘beast mode’: every pylon occupied by a weapon, the internal bomb bay bristling.

Fully loaded, the F-35B can deliver 22,000lb of destructive and defensive power: air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and conventional and laser-guided bombs.

If you’re struggling to imagine a 22,000lb payload… it’s the equivalent of the heaviest bomb carried by a WW2 Lancaster bomber (the Grand Slam or ‘earthquake’ bomb).

And it’s nearly three times more than the UK’s last carrier-borne strike aircraft, the Harrier GR9, over a decade ago.

Continues at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... strike-ops

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F-18 jet turned ‘a wee bit British’ whilst flying over carrier

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/f-18-je ... a7sRMisbHc

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F-35 in rolling vertical landing on HMS Prince of Wales

HMS Prince of Wales, currently conducting trials off the American coast, has witnessed its first Shipborne Rolling Vertical Landing.

The Shipborne Rolling Vertical Landing (SRVL) is a British endeavour—a capability at least a decade in the making—that will allow pilots to return to ship with more stores on the aircraft after a mission.

It is a process designed to land jump-jet aircraft that uses both the vertical thrust from the jet engine and lift from the wings, thus maximising the payload an aircraft can return with and stopping the financial waste that comes with dropping expensive weaponry in the sea in order to land vertically.

Continu4s at - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/f-35-in ... -of-wales/