Page 53 - F-35B and USMC

The Integration of the F-35B into USMC Operations

The Royal Navy is currently preparing for sea trials in 2016, and flight trials with Lightning II Joint Strike
Fighter aircraft after that.

In late March 2015, I had a chance to visit the first of class of the new generation British carrier, Her Majesty’s
Ship Queen Elizabeth, and also passed by the rapidly emerging Prince of Wales, which is next in line. The
day after the tour, I sat down with Royal Navy and Air Force senior personnel to discuss the way ahead from
an operational point of view.

The first thing you notice when you get onboard is how large the flight deck is. I was told it is approximately
90% of the size of a Nimitz Class carrier (which is the largest warship in the world).

The second thing you notice are the two islands aboard the ship.

This is due to the fact that it is not a nuclear carrier and the exhausts for the engines exit on two parts of the
flight deck – with an island incorporating those exit points. The forward island is used to operate the ship; and
the aft island runs flight deck operations. In a crisis, either can perform both tasks, but in visiting the two
islands, it is clear that the designers have focused on ways to enhance the work flow for the two different
tasks, namely running the ship and operating the aircraft aboard the flight deck.
HMS Queen Elizabeth is a cross between the notion of a large deck amphibious assault ship, like the USS
America, and a strike carrier, like CVN-78 or the USS Gerald Ford (when commissioned).

The ship is designed to handle 40 aircraft: fighters, helicopters, and possibly Ospreys in the future. The current
plan is for 24 F-35Bs, 8 ASW helicopters and 5 Crowsnest surveillance systems off of modified Merlin
helicopters.

The design emphasizes flexibility, with accommodation for 250 Royal Marines and the ability to support them
with attack helicopters and troop transports up to Chinook size and larger. In addition to the innovative JSF F-
35B, the Royal Navy will add a new airborne command post to the deck, which will be available for a
multiplicity of tasks in ship defense.

With the F-35B, the strike concept will be different from that of the U.S. Navy and its large deck carriers.

As an RAF officer put it: “The plane is so easy to fly, we will focus on getting the maximum effects from the
strike force, and not have to focus as much attention to flight choreography as one has to do with legacy
aircraft.”

FIGURE 15 THE QUEEN ELIZABETH CARRIER. CREDIT: BAE SYSTEMS

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