British F-35B stealth jets will join HMS Prince of Wales next week on a high-profile deployment to the Indo-Pacific, where they will aim to declare full operating capability in a milestone for UK carrier strike capability.
The 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier will lead the UK Carrier Strike Group on Operation Highmast, a mission spanning the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific. Onboard will be jets from 809 Naval Air Squadron and the RAF’s 617 Squadron, marking the first time the UK’s Lightning Force will be deployed at full scale from a Royal Navy carrier.
According to a Royal Navy news release, the mission will “realise full operating capability for F-35 in the UK with the ability to deploy two squadrons to the maritime operating base.”
Group Captain John Butcher, Commander of the Lightning Air Wing, added: “This is an important milestone which culminates after years of efforts… Fifth-generation air power is important for us to be able to control the air in a contested environment.”
The deployment also marks the first operational outing for 809 Naval Air Squadron since it was reformed in December 2023. Its commanding officer, Commander Nick Smith, emphasised the value of joint training: “At a time when the world is as unsettled as it is right now, it’s hugely important that we get out and exercise with our allies and F-35 partners to prove the capability that we have in UK Defence.”
Operation Highmast is intended not only to project UK military power but also to reinforce interoperability with key allies, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. As the Carrier Strike Group sails east, the embarked jets will train alongside Japanese and Australian forces, who also operate F-35s.
The squadrons themselves are split evenly between Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel. Notably, 617 Squadron is now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mike Carty of the Royal Marines – the first Royal Marine to lead a UK fast jet squadron. “It’s an incredible privilege,” he said in the release, “and what it shows is the joint nature of the squadron and how we integrate between the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.”
The deployment marks a major leap in British carrier strike capability and will validate the UK’s ability to project two fully operational F-35 squadrons worldwide—by land or by sea.
It’s going to be very very interesting to see how they transition the Red Sea, I’m not sure I’m comfortably only having 1 T45 with her for that part of the journey does anyone know what the other T45 that’s not on CSG 25 is being deployed to? Perhaps it will be in the Red Sea anyway.
I would imagine having two squadrons of stealth fighters to take out would make the houthies think twice.
I understand and agree with your point defensively but it’s a different story when the targets can reach back at you with virtual impunity.
The houthies have already gone against two US warships and samali pirates against a french one. So not sure they would be worried about going against a UK one. I assume they will position the t45 between the carrier and shore to avoid the carrier blocking the radar arc. One isn’t ideal.
Yes but just one F35 can take on a whole Country and kick it’s ass back to the stone age.
Apparently.
Pre Stone Age.. we are talking 2000 space odyssey.. rubbing a few bones together if they are lucky..
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Other assets are always within reach. Even when not seen. A large umbrella is away of being protective without showing all your cards. The speed of deployment and range today is light years ahead of what it was previously. There is no soft touch today only what you show and what you want your adversary to see even digitally.
CSG has 4 frigates as well as the t-45 with T-23, Canadian, Norwegian and Spanish ( though i think Canadian maybe leave in Japan to go to west coast)
think Sea Ceptor and ESSM probably better to hit uav’s. plus the 2 tankers
I’m more worried about anti ship ballistic missiles. The Spanish F100 only carry’s SM2 which I don’t think will be that effective and is untried against ballistic missiles. Aster 30 has already intercepted such weapons.
I think the task force will be fine facing drones and cruise missiles.
Hopefully the F35’s can suppress the Rebels.
This will be great training it’s just very high stakes if anyone f**ks up and PoW gets a big hole in the deck and looses many of our precious F35’s.
I’d have a little more faith Jim. A US Navy carrier has been operating in that part of the world without issue.
Yes but in 2019 the USN did actually pause CBGs into that region due to the risk of Iranian anti ship ballistic missiles and only restarted sending CBGs when they could be protected by 2 SM3 armed ships.. I very much suspect the CBG will be supported along by the support of SM3 armed surface combatant to backup the T45..
I suspect the same Jonathan. I can image a couple of Burkes sailing up from the 5th fleet area to escort the CSG down from Suez. This will be an amazing NATO training opportunity but I’m sure JD will be pipping up about free load Europeans again.
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They can be through the danger zone in 2 days if they get a move on and strike the Houthis as they go.
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Two CSG21 T45’s, Hms Diamond and Defender are in refit to getting PIP and CAMM.
Dauntless and Dragon only 2 who have had PIP upgrade. Dragon is still working up. Dauntless is going with the Carriers. Daring is being virtually rebuilt and Duncan hasn’t started PIP. All a bit glacial if you ask me. How we managed when we had a full sized navy in the 60’s I’ve no idea.
If 24 F35s do deploy. That’s a serious capability. You would have to go back to OpTelic 2003 was the last time the UK deployed that kind of number of a single fast jet type. (32 Tornado GR4s deployed to the gulf)
Have you any info on the number mate? Some are suggesting 16.
It has for many years been 24. I have for the same years doubted that number. We will see shortly. As for “Full Operating Capability”, that’s a bit of a cop out given the designed capacity. I’m sure some here will disagree and say that there will be other aircraft but the fact is we are a long way short and a long way down the road to getting anywhere near “Full Capability”.
Sadly, I agree.
Few weapons integrated.
There are not many missions you can’t do with AMRAAM D, ASRAAM and Paveway IV.
I’m surprised the podded cannon doesn’t get a look in here. Might be useful. Does the US use it on their F35Bs? Does/will anyone?
Sorry but despite that headline figure, word is that actual each squadron will deploy with 8 airframes. Worse still, 617 will be returning to the UK from the Mediterranean after the major exercise, leaving just 8 F35s on 809sqn for the Red Sea and onwards.
Full operating capability isn’t defined by how many jets you have on-board.
It depends on your interpretation, personally Robert, I think this statement is more spin than fact. Your interpretation could be given to having just one F35 on the Carriere, Mine is to have the designed full load and having it fully operational as she was designed to have many years ago. So many on here defend the dismal lack of F35’s yet moan about every other hardware shortfall it’s rather odd to say the least.
Why build then at all ?
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There was a clearly planted thread on NL which *might* be trailing the RAF view on this and might also be a StPb effort.
Hard to tell.
If the MoD have been sufficiently incompetent to not be able to generate 24 gets with the billions spent then heads have to roll as it is joker ish in the extreme to have this many aircraft that on order/delivered that cannot operationally deploy.
*If* this is true it says two things.
– F35B is a paper tiger and is not really deployable; and
– the whole of RAF fast jet rests with the T2/3 Typhoon; and
– the decision to wind down and withdraw T1 Typhoon is even more crackers than any of us thought; and
– buying more F35B when RAF cannot generate any substantial force output is crackers; and
Unless this is a stupid ploy to force a buy of Typhoon?
A lot swirling in the mix here including RAF/RN purchase politics and the usual inter service kindergarten games.
Unfortunately, however you spun it putting 16 F35B on PoW when 24 4 24 was the announced force generation is not a great look.
I’m guessing 24 initally and about 18 for east of Suez, two squadronsof 8 and a few spares.
I believe the USMC regard it as a superb platform.
If the Spanish buy F35B, along with the Italian fleet, then we have wonderful opportunities to cross deck train in the Med with our NATO allies.
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I haven’t apart from the repeated 2 sqns deploying. They may put 24 on her for a short period. Then continue with 16. That would be a more sustainable deployment number with the amount of airframes currently available. 24 would be a big stretch. And wouldn’t leave many back at Marham for training. I guess we will find out soon enough mate 👍
I agree that 24 would be for a week in the Med doing some things like rapid take off serials to validate the force generating rate.
I’d have thought it would then drop down to 12-16 for the rest of the deployment with maybe some coming off to Akrotiri.
It will be interesting to see what is actually done in the event.
The eyes of the world are watching and this is part of our negotiating hand with the EU and The Tangerine Tinted Buffoon….as well as being a statement of power wrt Russia.
If we flunk it there are non trivial implications.
Cheers mate.
Agree w/ your assessment of deployed aircraft. This would not preclude the possibility of a joint training op w/ either the Italians and/or Japanese carriers. Believe there would be incredible PR potential value generated, if even token cross-decking between allies could be demonstrates during this deployment. This capability would absolutely be noted and logged in each CRINK capital. Fair winds and following sea
seas for the CSG. 🤞🤞
Fair winds and following seas for the CSG. (This edit required courtesy of a senior moment, thought I proof-read text before posting.) 🙄
…demonstrated…🙄 (Is edit function currently available for use?)
The Japanese don’t have any F35Bs as yet.. they are hoping to borrow some of the UK ones to play on their carrier.. they actually are suffering from have carrier.. but no aircraft to practice with.
Jonathan,
USNI reports Japan still slated to have eight operational F-35Bs in FY25. 🤔 Delivery delayed from FY24. Projected completion/delivery dates are a very fluid proposition w/ the F-35 programme. Time will tell all. 😉
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Robert, It all comes down to how many aircraft are now deemed to be a Squadron.
The number is meaningless really. We have had sqns with just 9 jets and as many as 26 on various sqns over the years. 45sqn which was the Tornado GR1 OCU had 26 on strength. 56sqn with the Tornado F3 was 20 odd. The F35 and Typhoon fleets operate as a whole fleet approach, so aircraft are moved around between sqns depending on requirements and deployment needs. 👍
Robert, I was referring to the two squadrons to be embarked, If 12 each then 2 squadrons would be 24. If 8 then just 16.
I agree 24 F35B would be an amazing capability.
However, ‘sources’ are trailing that this won’t happen.
The latest whisper is 18… but it’s all really conjecture and whatiffery at present.
1 T45 and 1 T23. Despite knowing this deployment was going ahead for ages, we cannot even get two of each fully operational for this far east jaunt and the projection of ‘British’ power.
And don’t give me that garbage about working ‘interoperability’ with our ‘allies’ one of whom is Spain. Enough said.
What is sad is that we could actually manage two of each just 4 years ago, it really shows how threadbare things have become recently. Delaying the Type 26 and 31 remains a terrible choice, the affects of which we feel daily.
Although Diamond spent much of that trip in port.
The big difference between CSG21 and 25 is we didn’t have Russia stomping about.
Yes we did but they weren’t deemed to be the threat we see today.
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I think we could manage two of each if we had to but we need to be able to respond quickly closer to home.
T45 availability is about to get an awful lot better once all six are actually generated again so we should have four at high availability – which was the original plan. While need to buy a big pile of spares for that!
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Bill, If our problems were not so well known, the “Interoperability with our Allies” would not be out of the normal.
Is 24 F35s considered “full carrier strike combat power”? Isn’t the QE class capable of operating 30 or 40 F35s.
If I recall correctly it was always suggested that 24 would be a standard deployment but you are correct in saying the carriers could operate upwards of 40 and I believe that I have seen graphics suggesting that 60 is probably closer to the full surge capacity of a QE class carrier. I wouldn’t be surprised to see both Italian and Japanese F-35Bs cross decking during various parts of the deployment either.
There are no Japanese F35Bs
For what do you need 30-40 F35B?
That is more than most countries air forces!
I agree there was a number of 36 trailed as a full load out a while back.
Realistically you need to then move helicopter operations off to RFA at that point to maximise the deck space.
Also if the drone thing becomes real you need more landing space cleared so planes are not on the sundeck but in the hangar. That needs more people to move them around and then you get back to Invincible style Tetris.
Because our enemies and those who might one day be our enemies have thousands of aircraft and they are not going to be stopped or dissuaded if we have 1% of their number.
The original design approach for the QEC carrier was predicated on the desire to produce a daily combat sortie rate on station that was comparable to a US carrier, or a rate that would be deemed appropriate by US forces to enable a UK carrier to replace a US one. That number was some where around 100 sorties per day I believe. The design ended up with a proposed complement of 40: 36 Joint Combat Aircraft (JCA) and 4 AC&C aircraft, with a surge beyond that. The JCA requirement was ‘met’ by procuring the F35B. Times and approach have changed since then. The QEC is not meant to be like a US carrier with a dedicated air group, but rather with an air complement fit for the task at hand. Hence the qualification of Chinook, Apache etc. Incidentally, the JCA was also supposed to replace the Tornado and Jaguar fleets in addition to the FAA requirement but that never happened.
For what do you need two 70,000 ton carriers then ?
It cuts both ways.
Don’t give the upcoming Defence Review any more ideas…they’ve got enough (maybe inc. that one) already.
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40 includes fixed wing and rotary cabs.
Does anyone know if RFA Argus will join the CSG, apparently she has finished her maintenance period?
Speaking to a good friend and also a reliable souce working at Marham, the number of airframes allocated is only 12 with other platforms and possibly partner nation’s bring the total airframes on board to 25. From an F35 perspective this would be a pathetic number especially when you take into account any that cannot fly due to engineering issues
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The key design parameter for this system is ‘sortie generation rate’, not ‘number of aircraft carried’. Too many and you start to crowd the hangar and reduce the rate at which you can turn around launches. Too few and you won’t have airframes turned around and ready to go on a sustained basis. From memory- FOC would require the ability to launch about 75 sorties per flight day, or about 120 in ‘surge’ conditions (I e.not sustainable).
About ruddy time. I’ve been hugely skeptical about the F35 in general and our acquisition in particular. About time we finally saw some of them deploying and doing their job.
There’s no bones about it – the F-35 is the most capable Western fighter jet.in current service. There’s little to be skeptical about in terms of capability.
The procurement has been slow, weapons integration has been slow, availability has been low.
It could be 68 F35’s it makes them all no better than the old Harrier that could carry every bit of ordinance the UK wanted. Is it true that the British F35’s cannot carry any domestic weaponry internally, maintaining its stealth capability? If true, it’s worthless when you consider the US now expects to give the go-ahead before weapons purchased from them are used.
Should have just stuck with the Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber.
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We can carry Paveway internally, which is the equal of any US land attack weapon yet integrated.
I’d like to see Harriers have a go against F35Bs, even if they were limited to ASRAAM only (two missiles each on stealth pylons).
Would be a short and very depressing fight.
Yet, the French can deploy more aircraft on their carrier that is 23 meters shorter and 20,000 tonnes lighter than the QE2. Last month, the Charles de Gaulle wrapped up a deployment with 22 Rafale fighters, two E-2C Hawkeyes, two AS365 Dauphins helicopters and a NH90 helicopter.
And they will now spend months without putting a carrier to sea recovering, and occasionally years having it refitted.
The French need to put aircraft at sea just to keep the pilots qualified, the UK situation is actually preferable for the small number of aircraft we have.
Transiting the RedSea is exactly the reason for having the carriers according to the RN – ie protection of our sea lanes. Now we have a opportunity to really show their worth it seems there is perhaps not the confidence we had when the shipos were not under threat the last time one went to the Far East. I only hope the USN is provideing AEW cover and intelligence info from their satellite systems. Would we risk a strike by our F35s on Houts without USN support?
Carriers and indeed all ships always have been and always will be vulnerable when transiting narrow water ways. That’s no reason not to have carriers and if the carrier was deployed to combat the Houthis it would be south of Oman in the Indian Ocean right where US carriers currently are not in the Red Sea. Both US carriers the Truman and the Carl Vinson entered the Indian Ocean via Singapore not Suez as a general rule it makes a great deal of sense to avoid the Red Sea with an expensive asset like a carrier no matter who you are.
“…Both US carriers the Truman and the Carl Vinson entered the Indian Ocean via Singapore…”
No, only Uss Carl Vinson
, came via Singapore. Truman came via Suez it is U.S East Coast based.
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During the Red Sea passage they should have plenty of protection.
Land based from the RAF Typhoons out of Akroteri and from the USAF F-16 out of the Gulf. Maybe even the IAF.
From the USN, first the air wings from the carrier that has been there for a while and second from the one that should be arriving any day from the Far East. This will give carrier cover both north and south of Yemen plus the RN force traveling through.
It will be a high risk passage as the Houti regard the UK in the same light as the US so will be very keen to hit a RN ship but that potential protection should keep their heads in their bunkers.
Just waiting to see if they’ll put any additional defensive armaments on the carrier or just the 3 Phalanx’s? Can’t be too hard can it for some 30mm and Martlet?
Not gonna happen
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Somewhat disappointed by the scepticism of many abovementioned reviews as regards the capability of HM Royal Navy and the :Air Wing accompanying this ‘little jolly ‘ to show” The Red Dragon” we are not intimidated by there brazen expansion in the South China Sea , I truly believe that when push comes to shove ect then that’s when the training and ethos of professionalism of our outstanding Service Personnel will overcome the lack of size of how many ‘Ships ‘/Fleet that are deployed.
G.S.K
Good for you…. Can we have that in writing though, just the same ?
“Up to” 24 F-35B’s could well mean as few as 16. Aviation Week is also reporting that one squadron will return to the UK before the carrier transits through the Suez Canal. I hope that the SDR will transfer the 47 F-35B’s to the FAA, and let the RAF buy the F-35A’s its always wanted. But of course that is too sensible and logical to have any chance of actually happening.
“…and let the RAF buy the F-35A’s its always wanted.”
That would be a misguided decision.
A stand-off air launched missile for a ASMP or nuclear Storm Shadow, would still not fit in the F-35A’s internal bays, S.S is 5.38m in length.
As a tactical nuke dumb bomb delivery platform, F-35A would need to be forward deployed to Eastern Europe constantly.
not a credible force unless it’s part of a US led/backed operation, about the only place they would be useful is the falklands, or, the chagos islands, if we still owned them that is
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