Hmm, maybe they shouldn't give mr Broon ideas about how he could justify cutting the JSF order by getting others, so to speak, on board. Raises the idea of a joint Anglo-French carrier force again as well,
if they fit it with a catapult...
Learning To Fly Off Big Decks Again
In Atlantic Exercise, British Re-Learn Large Carrier Operations
Coalition Ops
The Marine embark — the first in which foreign aircraft have flown in rigorous operational scenarios from Royal Navy carriers — might one day pave the way for real-world operations.
For one thing, the Royal Navy has two carriers — Illustrious and Ark Royal — but not enough planes to equip them full time.
Mitchell, who spent a tour flying U.S. Marine Harriers in Yuma, Ariz., said commanders would have to become more imaginative in using coalition assets. The next step, he said, is “being a coalition within a ship, as opposed to a coalition of ships or a coalition of capabilities.”
He noted that Italian, Spanish and most recently Indian Harriers have already done photo-op-type landings on British carriers, and that the Italian and Spanish warplanes would return later this year for exercises.
“One of the strengths of this deployment is that if we end up in a coalition operation where we need the capability, which is currently a capability gap in the U.K., and if we need that gap filling for a particular operation and the only way of filling it on here is to invite the Spanish, Italians or the U.S. Marine Corps,” he said.
Mitchell declined to speculate on whether U.S. and British leaders might actually send U.S. aircraft on missions from U.K. ships. But he said, “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that we could operate as we are in a conflict.”.....