The UK’s Carrier Strike Group reached Initial Operating Capability say the Ministry of Defence.
Britain is now able to deploy a combat capable Carrier Strike Group anywhere in the world.
The Ministry of Defence said:
“All elements of the group from fighter jets to radar systems to anti-ship weapons have been successfully brought together and operated. Both the air and naval elements of the CSG have now met this milestone, which includes qualified pilots and ground crews being held at short notice for carrier-based operations and trained to handle weapons and maintain the equipment.
Another marker of success at this stage includes the ability to deploy Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities such as frigates and destroyers, as well as both fixed and rotary wing aircraft including Merlin helicopters to operate alongside the carrier.”
Defence Minister Jeremy Quin said:
“This is a hugely significant milestone for HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy and the whole country. This achievement is a testament to the determination of our service personnel and industry workforce who have delivered this first-rate military capability, a capability held by only a handful of nations. I wish the entire Carrier Strike Group well ahead of their first operational deployment this year.”
Full operating capability for the CSG is expected by December 2023, say the MoD.
Great news but still no AEW…
I suspect it will be going through trials on the Pacific tour at this rate
Nor effective AShW missiles. Nor adequate missile defence onboard the carrier. Nor a full fighter wing. Typical bloody government
That comment just shows how little you understand.
He is right. Unless you tell me that “operational” is just Sir Humphrey slang for: we can do navigation without crashing into each other…
So what am I missing?, We have world beating T45 Destroyers, Fantastic T23’s with the world beating 2087 sonar. Harpoon is still in service, with a interm replacement planned from 2023 onwards. SeaViper, SeaCeptor, CIWS or DS30 on all assets including 3 Phalanx and 4 DS30 on the carrier. The deadly Astute class subs with TLAM capability, and 24 5th gen all aspect stealth strike fighters to fly off the deck, backed up by the very capable Merlin helicopter and 3 x Crownsnest systems. And the finest trained men & women to operate all this kit to ever put to sea. And this is only the beginning. More F35’s will come, Crownsnest will become operational, UAV’s will enter service in many different forms. Apache, Chinook and Wildcat will all put to sea in the not to distant future also. There is a huge amount to be proud of, and many thought we wouldn’t get this far. So let’s stop the negativity, and appreciate what we have got, and how just far we have come ??????
AEW is coming, these things don’t happen overnight. And it’s IOC, not full operating capability.
I’d anticipate initial Crowsnest AEW presence during the Spring, though F35 is not bereft on that front in any case.
Maybe two submarines will go along to add further tactical uncertainty for the Politburo. Could be two of ours, or one UK / one US; or maybe an Aussie Collins on the surface with ours below.
I think 3 Crownsnest systems will deploy with QE this year, but they are not declared operational. And yes, F35 brings massive ISTAR capability and wide area surveillance. ?
Great news. Remind me again how many serviceable F35B we have.
21 at the moment (I believe 3 of which are currently in the US for training/intergration purposes). 617 sqn could deploy half the numbers if necessary but the desperately slow buy rate really isn’t helping nor is, as Rob pointed out, the lack of AEW. Still, by the time the CSG sails we might have a few more F35s
If we speed up the buy rate now we will be stuck with too many block 3 airframes which are unable to use Meteor/SPEAR 3 without an upgrade to block 4 past 2024.
Boom!
Have an up vote.
Finally someone who gets what the F35 buy is about.
I also suspect that the speed of acquisition is also impacted by the relativly slow US production rate.
Are the USMC F35s onboard too?
17 in fleet and flying last time I checked
They have NO AEW when is crows-nest operational
IOC for Crowsnest is September 2021, though 3 pre-IOC kits will be on board for the 2021 group deployment.
well not quite it needs some push fit fittings replacing for the fire system,which i cannot believe they used in the first place for a high pressure system,bit like using plumbing pipe for compressed air in a workshop..
It cannot actually be push fit. It wouldn’t pass the shock test.
It might be something like a slide collar Compressed fitting with the compressing done by bolts. It **might** actually be that the quality of the tube is too high and it is too hard for the compression rings to bite into it. Or that the tube used is too inflexible so when it is shocked it puts all the forces on the connections. Or that it is an issue with the wider pipes which are inherently stiffer. Or I could be totally wrong!
It can be an issue with those systems, the tube must be softer than the compression ring otherwise inadequate bite occurs.
I feel like I have ventured into a plumbing site.
Shouldn’t have gone to Screwfix for the fire main fittings!
Point to note; this is Initial Operating Capability which is obviously NOT Full Operating Capability so some key elements are going to be missing. Apart from the issues about AEW and aircraft numbers the ship/group is supposed to be on 5 days notice to sail operationally.
However, QE is still along side in Portsmouth undergoing her latest capability insertion so I think IOC may be a few week previous. As they have said on Save the Royal Navy it would take a “hercilean effort” to get QE and the other ships of the group ready in the event of a crisis.
Nevertheless, this is an important moment for the Royal Navy and the country and whilst I would agree with the concerns about AEW, SSM, etc. etc. the navy is still better off now than it was 5 years ago.
There are only three things we can wish for given the current lamentable state of our armed forces: Progress, progress, progress, and this is at least one of them. 🙂
Cheers CR
Crowsnest ???
Slightly off topic, But the Koreans have decided to build a light carrier (40000 Tonnes) I quote:
South Korea Officially Starts LPX-II Aircraft Carrier ProgramThe information which was first reported by local media JoongAng Ilbo means that after about a year of preliminary planning and debate, the program is now officially underway. This ship is expected to enter service with the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy in 2030.
As we previously reported, LPX-II will prioritize aircraft operation over amphibious operation and will have not have a well deck. It will also not feature ski-jump and will have two islands. Primary aircraft will be F-35B Lightning II and its sensor and weapon suite will be all indigenous. The ballistic missile defence (BMD) capable multi function radar (MFR) being developed for Korea’s nextgen destroyer (KDDX) will reportedly equip LPX-II.
Twin island designThe latest design of LPX-II was also unveiled on the occasion, showing a twin island arrangement which is likely the reflection of international cooperation.
In terms of foreign partners, US & UK government and firms are said to be involved. The US will transfer technology for reinforced deck as part of F-35B purchase while the UK has been providing technical and doctrinal advice. As we reported in October 2020, the UK Government and Babcock International, which led the Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier design process, « are said to be actively engaging with their South Korean counterparts ». This likely explains why the latest design of LPX-II shows two islands that look similar to those of the Royal Navy aircraft carriers. For the record, Babcock was already involved in the ROK Navy’s KSS-III large attack submarine program.
About LPX-IISouth Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) was awarded a contract for the LPX-II conceptual design in October last year. The LPX-II project aims to build a new versatile large-deck landing ship for short take-off and vertical landing fighter jets.
HHI is expected to finish the conceptual design by the second half of 2020, with commissioning with Republic of Korea Navy planned for the early 2030s. The vessel, displacing around 40,000 tons (30,000 tons initially but recent DAPA references to the project mention the higher figure) would be based on the existing Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship (LPX-I project) but without a well deck according to the latest information. It would be able to accommodate around 20 F-35B STOVL fighters.
The LPX-II vessel will also deploy future Marine Attack Helicopters of the ROK Marine Corps, for which there is an upcoming competition between local company KAI (with the Surion MAH), Bell Helicopters (with the AH-1Z) and Boeing (with the AH-64 Apache). All three companies were showcasing their solutions at ADEX 2019.
Slightly off topic, But the Koreans have decided to build a light carrier (40000 Tonnes) I quote:
South Korea Officially Starts LPX-II Aircraft Carrier Program
The information which was first reported by local media JoongAng Ilbo means that after about a year of preliminary planning and debate, the program is now officially underway. This ship is expected to enter service with the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy in 2030.
As we previously reported, LPX-II will prioritize aircraft operation over amphibious operation and will have not have a well deck. It will also not feature ski-jump and will have two islands. Primary aircraft will be F-35B Lightning II and its sensor and weapon suite will be all indigenous. The ballistic missile defence (BMD) capable multi function radar (MFR) being developed for Korea’s nextgen destroyer (KDDX) will reportedly equip LPX-II.
Twin island design
The latest design of LPX-II was also unveiled on the occasion, showing a twin island arrangement which is likely the reflection of international cooperation.
In terms of foreign partners, US & UK government and firms are said to be involved. The US will transfer technology for reinforced deck as part of F-35B purchase while the UK has been providing technical and doctrinal advice. As we reported in October 2020, the UK Government and Babcock International, which led the Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier design process, « are said to be actively engaging with their South Korean counterparts ». This likely explains why the latest design of LPX-II shows two islands that look similar to those of the Royal Navy aircraft carriers. For the record, Babcock was already involved in the ROK Navy’s KSS-III large attack submarine program.
About LPX-II
South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) was awarded a contract for the LPX-II conceptual design in October last year. The LPX-II project aims to build a new versatile large-deck landing ship for short take-off and vertical landing fighter jets.
HHI is expected to finish the conceptual design by the second half of 2020, with commissioning with Republic of Korea Navy planned for the early 2030s. The vessel, displacing around 40,000 tons (30,000 tons initially but recent DAPA references to the project mention the higher figure) would be based on the existing Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship (LPX-I project) but without a well deck according to the latest information. It would be able to accommodate around 20 F-35B STOVL fighters.
The LPX-II vessel will also deploy future Marine Attack Helicopters of the ROK Marine Corps, for which there is an upcoming competition between local company KAI (with the Surion MAH), Bell Helicopters (with the AH-1Z) and Boeing (with the AH-64 Apache). All three companies were showcasing their solutions at ADEX 2019.
Interesting they Suggest no Ski – Jump ?.
I just read that. Why design a carrier from scratch for STOVL planes with no ski-jump?! It’s a needless handicap of the aircraft’s take-off weight at least, maybe they aren’t planning on flying planes with any actual weapons on board?!
Wot no leaks? Operational after a fashion -propped up by the USA
Meanwhile, the other leaky boat Prince of Wales can’t make the voyage to the US so will be staying at home
And saving 2 mil in trials and fuel costs. Are you saying they should go after they have fixed the pipework issue?
Sad, sad and even sadder…..you never fail to comply old man.
Sometimes its better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than open it and remove all doubt.
I still believe the Brits would have been better off purchasing or even ”renting”, two or three of of the Kittyhawk CV’s. They would have then been able to put together a real strike group using F/A-18’s. Instead of this so called carrier with the ‘wonder plane’ be all do nothing well F-35. It may not have been cheaper…but it certainly would have been more effective.
Glad to have you as a full naval ally into the next decade. We just may need it with China