Why? If the ship is designed to be operate aircraft in sea states 5 or 6 (rough or very rough) and has trouble operating aircraft in less difficult sea conditions, then something
has gone wrong.
Is
CDG undertaking the same tasking as the land based NATO aircraft, or is her tasking more local to the Misrata area - being close to shore? If so, and the stalemate on the ground continues then the issue of her relief becomes a very high stake one.
By the way,
Illustrious is now back at sea after her refit, and at
flying stations.
LA James Batley guided the first aircraft – a Merlin of 814 Naval Air Squadron – to set down on the deck of 'Lusty' in more than 18 months, and thus the carrier to another small step in her long road back to front-line duties.
The Flying Tigers of 814 were joined aboard Illustrious by 815 NAS of Yeovilton who sent a Lynx to help the carrier’s Flyco – flying control – and deck team practise the landing and take-off procedures after such a long gap.
Does this not hint at the problem we will have in the future after a period with no fixed wing aircraft?
In the coming weeks more helicopters will be helping to breathe life back into Illustrious – more Lynx and Merlin, plus Jungly Sea King Mk4 of the Commando Helicopter Force and Army Air Corps’ Apaches which are currently demonstrating the potency of a carrier-helicopter gunship combination off Libya from HMS Ocean.
But not as potent as a Harrier carrier eh? Is that why the USMC operates AV8Bs from amphibious assault ships?