Originally Posted by
pasta
My guess is they're waiting for the wind to go round to somewhere in the North...
Agreed. To the North they've got nearly three miles over the estuary before any habitation, and I imagine a lightly loaded F-35B climbs pretty fast. From testing they'll know the parameters anyway. Carriers are obviously not designed to launch jets whilst moored but being able to get a valuable aircraft off the ship and back into service in circumstances like this is obviously handy. As a matter of interest, does anyone know if a Nimitz/Ford class carrier can launch F-35C/Super Hornet whilst stationary (wind permitting)?