Originally Posted by
SpazSinbad
Possibly - from your link: ...
the focus of Westlant now shifts to developing combat techniques for exploiting the fighter’s awesome capabilities in action and working as part of a carrier task group.
I presume that means using the F-35B Lightning to intercept hostile aircraft. I have no idea if ASW is on the agenda, but it was part of previous WESTLANT deployments with all included one of our submarines. Maritime air defence and ASW are really quite important to NATO, and pretty much anywhere else with a nation state adversary. Forces Net reports her
putting to sea today:
The 65,000-tonne ship deploys initially alongside frigate HMS Richmond,
tanker RFA Tideforce a
nd an air group of helicopters and drones, before F-35B stealth fighters join the deployment once the ship arrives in North America for the Westlant 22 deployment.
"I’m really looking forward to seeing the United States, especially New York from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Getting the jets on board will definitely be a highlight, and operating on the deck with them," said 23-year-old Able Seaman Owen Cooper, an aircraft handler.
As NATO’s command ship, HMS Prince of Wales
will remain at high-readiness throughout her mission to the US - spearheading the naval element of the alliance’s response force capable of being deployed rapidly to worldwide crises.
HMS Queen Elizabeth
is set to deploy to the Mediterranean and Baltic this autumn, meaning both carriers will be operating F-35B jets thousands of miles apart.
Traditionally carriers have been very important to NATO, particularly in terms of sea control, despite all the media numpties who insisted that carriers exist to drop bombs on targets on enemy shores and nothing else. This of course has been discussed on this thread, on
CVF and Carrier Strike - ARRSE, and Late 1970s US Congress Report - The US Sea Control Mission (carriers needed in the Atlantic for Air Defence and ASW - both then and today) - ARRSE. This last thread has a high signal to noise ration and features insights from a former US Navy carrier flyer, as well as links to multiple official documents, including the declassified 1980s maritime strategy papers, and academic papers, and explains things in the terms of the perspectives of the Cold War front line and the implications of Geography, Physics, and Maths.
One last thing - an amphibious deployment in the NATO area is coming up soon.
Could the deployment of HMS
Queen Elizabeth be related to this? Defending amphibious forces is a carrier role.