Originally Posted by Low Average
Thanks WEBF, good to know that operational missions were flown from the Carrier in 2021.
Originally Posted by SLOwft
(WEBF - thanks for pointed out the correct dates for the CV launched F-35 ops - I had both stories open and copied from the wrong one - doh!)
What makes missions operational? Delivering ordnance? The
Maritime Operating Concept describes the use of maritime forces as PEC - W: Protect, Engage, Constrain, - Warfight.
The execution of activity across the PEC-W framework is neither linear nor sequential. The Maritime Force – by virtue of being a contingency force in use – is capable of delivering simultaneous effect across PEC-W. For example, a planned Carrier Strike Group deployment may conduct engagement activity with allies, constrain an adversary’s freedom (by action or threat), contribute to conventional deterrence, and provide a contingency for crisis response..
. - Page 39
The Maritime Force will deny access to maritime Key Terrain by establishing synchronised Sea Control (with the footnote 'Bounded in space and time to the limits necessary to produce effects/accomplish objectives'). - Page 44
NATO/JEF deployments - and things such as the interception of Russian aircraft and ASW activities very much fall into the Constrain category.
Originally Posted by Not_a_boffin
Its only recently that people have realised we might have to sink major units again.......
It was only recently the numbskulls who hold political office and the media have realised that history never ended and state competition and conflict still exist, including the need for sea control. I wonder if the critics know the strategic situation, current and future maritime threats, and naval technology and tactics better than the heads of the Royal Navy, United States Navy, Marine Nationale, and others. who
had a conference last week?
Sea has become a more contested environment, and navies need to think about naval combat “from seabed to space,” according to Vaujour. Maritime airspace is now contested, as shown in the Red Sea and the Black Sea, and that will probably be the case for every future crisis, he said.
The ability of carriers to function as intelligence nodes and using artificial intelligence to integrate battlefield sensor data from their entire strike group will be key to fending off new threats, the French admiral said.
“We must understand what’s going on before the enemy,” Vaujour said. “New technology will give us the opportunity to do that.”
While aircraft carriers face challenges, there’s still no better better way to deliver mobile expeditionary strike, force projection and force protection from the sea, said Adm. Sir Ben Key, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff of the Royal Navy. He pointed to China building carriers, despite having developed apparent carrier killer capability.
The contemporary battlespace has become more contested for everyone, and the challenge for carrier strike groups is to integrate all available data to create a “superiority bubble” around the carrier, according to Key.
“For years, we have assumed sea control, and so we could invest everything pretty much in local superiority and strike as the principal aim,” Key said. “Now what we’ve got to get back into is thinking more deeply on how we do sea control.”
Some of us have, and understand that j
ust like in the Cold War, the carrier is vital for Sea Control - as discussed here.
Originally Posted by Ninthace
Assuming such a wish was granted, getting the ships into a position to defend Ukrainian ports might be difficult during the current hostilities. Speaking of which, where did the mine hunters we gave the Ukrainians end up?
The two
Sandown class Minehunters have not been able to be delivered, so the answer would appear to be no. Also training sailors to effectively operate frigates is going to be a much greater task than training minehunter crews. I wonder if really it was code for saying that he thought we should not be cutting our forces, as we can distract Russian forces away from Ukraine. The Tu-95 looking at NATO task groups and singleton warships cannot be firing missiles into Kyiv.
Originally Posted by langleybaston
D Tel on line writing of sending an HMS carrier to the Gulf.
Some RN credence?
Possibly - but as far as I know the idea would be to replace the USS
Dwight D Eisenhower on station later this year. We also have NATO commitments such as Exercise
Steadfast Defender 24, the first part of which will focus on transatlantic reinforcement.