CSG23 And Operation Firedrake

[Pelican]

820 Naval Air Squadron

SUB HUNT

We’ve been up against HNoMS Utstein. Her mission: sink HMS QNLZ. Our mission: stop her.
The exercises tested our crews’ efficiency, skill and tactical decision making.
We also got to stretch our legs fighting alongside Royal Air Force P8 Poseidons.

See - https://twitter.com/820NAS/status/1720726547709960471

And - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 8559946931

Also - https://twitter.com/COMUKCSG/status/1720723958834630798

Re 2nd link above, attached illustrates after lift chains when Q.E. was on her previous Westlant.

[Pelican]

820 Naval Air Squadron

SUB HUNT

We’ve been up against HNoMS Utstein. Her mission: sink HMS QNLZ. Our mission: stop her.
The exercises tested our crews’ efficiency, skill and tactical decision making.
We also got to stretch our legs fighting alongside Royal Air Force P8 Poseidons.

See - https://twitter.com/820NAS/status/1720726547709960471

And - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 8559946931

Also - https://twitter.com/COMUKCSG/status/1720723958834630798

Re 2nd link above, attached illustrates after lift chains when Q.E. was on her previous Westlant.

Tweet from Steve A. Wenham - "So which of the chains needs fixing?"

[Pelican]

Norwegian submarine tries to ‘sink’ British aircraft carrier

Helicopters from 820 Naval Air Squadron have been defending HMS Queen Elizabeth against Norwegian submarine HNoMS Utstein in an exercise.
HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Carrier Strike Group have been exercising with Norwegian forces.

See - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/norwegi ... t-carrier/

[Pelican]

Video shows British carrier group operating night and day

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/video-s ... t-and-day/

[Pelican]

Flares provide for stunning display over British carrier

Wildcats from HMS Queen Elizabeth have fired flares near the carrier.
In addition to marking the first time flares were loaded and fired from a helicopter flying from a Queen Elizabeth class carrier, it proved to be a stunning display.

The official account of the United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group, currently commanded by Commodore James Blackmore Royal Navy (COMUKCSG), tweeted the following.

See - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/flares- ... h-carrier/

[Pelican]

WESTLANT’23 the next instalment…

What’s hiding in the hangar?

Coming soon…See - https://twitter.com/HMSPWLS/status/1724507821243318278

[Pelican]

WESTLANT’23 the next instalment…

What’s hiding in the hangar?

Coming soon…See - https://twitter.com/HMSPWLS/status/1724507821243318278

Tweet 14 hrs ago:

HMSPWLS Sailed from Naval Station Norfolk today to begin the third phase of Westlant23 deployment.

Will shortly conduct flying trials with General Atomics Mojave RPAS.

[Pelican]

Photo essay: UK Carrier Strike Group completes second phase of 2023 deployment

The Autumn Carrier Strike Group deployment has now wrapped up with HMS Queen Elizabeth returning to Portsmouth. Here we summarise the activities during the second phase of the deployment.

HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived in Gothenburg on 13th October for the mid-deployment run ashore and an important week of defence engagement with Swedish and other Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) nations.

The carrier made an unplanned 96-hour stop in Portsmouth to conduct maintenance on aircraft lifts and to embark stores. She sailed on the 3rd of November and resumed operating in the North Sea, now under direct NATO command for the first time. She is part of exercise Neptune Strike 23-3 which spans Europe and includes Spanish and Italian capital ships also under NATO control in the Mediterranean.

Exercise Atlantic Trident was planned to test what the RAF calls ‘Agile Combat Deployment’. In a very long overdue recognition that the UK mainland could be targeted by cruise missiles, the first step are being made to operate aircraft dispersed away from their primary bases. AT-23 involved US F-35As, French Airforce and Navy Rafale jets, and RAF Typhoons responding to a simulated attack on their base. The jets conducted missions together but were informed mid-air that airfields had been denied and they were to relocate to RAF Leeming, Yorkshire.

After successfully relocating to a remote corner of the airbase, they established secure communications with HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Diamond to activate F-35Bs on the carrier . The jets provided support and connected with Command and Control Centres on the ground and in the air to receive tasking orders; including counter-air missions to protect the Carrier Support Group.

Typhoons switched their role mid-air from patroling to air-to-surface attack. The F-35Bs stayed on mission for 4 hours by ‘hot-pitting’ on the carrier – to refuel and simulate rearming with engines running. Jets remained airborne by being air-to-air refuelled by French MRTT, US KC135 and RAF Voyager aircraft.

On her way home, HMS Queen Elizabeth headed up the Clyde for another visit to the northern ammunition jetty at Glen Mallan. During this very short visit, she loaded additional munitions – a sensible precaution to be fully stocked for all eventualities, especially with solid stores support ship RFA Fort Victoria unavailable to replenish her at sea.

HMS Queen Elizabeth has now returned to Portsmouth having covered 13,000 nautical miles and achieving 944 aircraft deck landings in the 6-week period. She remains at high readiness and in an increasingly tense global situation, the UKCSG may be called on at any time. It should be noted the US Navy has 8 of its 11 aircraft carriers underway at the time of writing, the highest level for of activity some time, with 4 of them on operational deployments. Sustaining this for a long period will be difficult and the US may look to the UK to help carry the load in whichever theatre is most appropriate.

See - https://www.navylookout.com/photo-essay ... eployment/ - for a combination of large photos and videos.