Hopefully, our new Secretary of State for Defence will ignore those who cannot stand the truth and make it his mission to promote declared Strategic Maritime Policy. That includes providing full-size F-35B air groups for our new carriers.
- Post published:September 22, 2023
- Post category:Cdr. 'Sharkey' N D MacCartan-Ward DSC AFC RN
- Post comments:5 Comments
- Reading time:1 mins read
Procuring f-35c or Fa-18 (c) / UK spec and retro fitting traps to Elisabeth and PoW would be an equally solid decision to make.
When General James Mattis was the US Secretary of Defence, and America was considering the building of smaller conventionally propelled aircraft carriers, he looked at the UK’s QE carriers, considered the glacial rate at which they were being commissioned and equipped with aircraft, then said, “why don’t we reverse Lend Lease, and take them into the US Navy”. To date more US fast jets have operated from our carriers then have British. It’s only surprising that the prefix HMS has not yet been replaced with USS! By the time our carriers have a full British air group they will already be through a quarter of their operational lives. A deplorable state of affairs.
Keep going Sharkey – keep going and perhps they’ll be sea sick!
In my humble opinion, to make our two Carriers viable war machines in the face of now perceived threats, we need to install cats and traps, and then purchase the much more able F35 C.
The currently configured Carriers will not be able to withstand attacks using the limited defence of the F35B.
And I’ve not even mentioned the 7 day refuelling requirement to just keep them going, due to their non nuclear power system.
But what do I know ??
Many thanks, Peter,
you are wrong to suggest that the F-35B will have a limited defence capability. It will be more than adequate provided that the Ministry of Defence provides each carrier with a combat ready a group: two squadrons of 12 aircraft.
Sharkey.