Ivor Nidia,
I am sorry, but you have a very simplistic ideal of what constitutes operational capability. Carrier Strike is not just about the pilots of F35, safely hopping on and off a deck, it is about the performance of the total system. I have already made a post about the challenges that pilots of F35 will face in gaining Operational Qualification, which does not just mean doing circuits. Without continually operating the aircraft, the whole capability will be sub-optimal. Now, there may well be those in the MOD who are willing to take the risk, but we have all seen where that has led.
I base my comments not on a benign 9 month deployment (no disrespect intended) but on a 25 year career including service on 3 carriers, 6 of those years with the RAF, including at HQ Air Command and time in Main Building.
I have seen the difference over the years, from the time when I served on Ark, where there were Falklands Aces such as Soapy and Mogs drinking at the same bar as me, through Gulf War one, Op Deny Flight in the CAOC, time at Decci with several different squadrons not just RN ones, right through to JFH and I have seen
first hand how OC has declined. In exercise Purple Warrior in 1987, the precursor of JFH was flying 4 over 4 CAP, plus CAS with what I think was 800, 801 and 1 Sqn at the time. Here is a photo of that very exercise.
ArkPurpleWarrior | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
In latter years, JFH were merely 'playing at the game' and never achieved the level of capability I remember from 1987 despite significant feats such as a 17 aircraft launch during Hairy Funnel...thank god they did not all come back! That is the point...whilst the aircrew may well have achieved a significant amount, as a total system, carrier strike did not. The various other actors soon lost their limited skills as soon as the jets left. The units were never really tested in the sort of high intensity flying programme I remember, against a challenging adversary (albeit in an exercise) followed by a long deployment. Flying in the North Sea within range of Cot/Witt does not test the system. I hope the lessons since the demise of the old Ark in 1979 have been learnt although I doubt it. There is still a significant body out there that thinks you can operate Queen Elizabeth Class part time. You cannot, I speak with the experience of serving with both RN and RAF, witnessing the failures of doing things on the cheap or part time. This country has invested a lot of time and money in QEC and the aircraft that will operate off it. The RAF, RN and Army owe the taxpayer by agreeing to use the capability to its maximum effect in defending Britain's interests worldwide, exerting influence be that through soft power such as the cocktail/school party, or evacuation, blockade, disaster relief, strike or CAP. To do anything less, in order to indulge in some single service agenda will be negligent!