Originally Posted by
Timelord
So, will there only be enough pilots and maintainers for one air group, and if so will they only ever be ashore long enough to shift their gear from QNLZ to PoW and back again?
I believe the plan is that when one carrier is in the Carrier Strike role the other will be in refit, working up, or operating in the Littoral Maneuvere role. I am not not sure there will be a fixed air group - indeed this is one of the advantages of V/STOL as the pilots can stay carrier qualified without constant training. The number embarked routinely will be lower than the number embarked during a real operation.
Try not to forget the contribution she will make to task group ASW and command and control, and that not all the operational tasks, such as NATO command duties spoken of
here, will be F-35B heavy. I expect either
Queen Elizabeth or
Prince of Wales to participate in the major NATO reinforcement exercise next year, which I expect will involve her performing a flagship role, with the jets doing intercepts, including being controlled from a Type 45, and the ASW Merlins doing coordinated ASW in conjunction with towed array equipped frigates, MPA, and even a submarine or two.