The British Ministry of Defense announced Monday (4) that the Royal Navy’s first aircraft carrier strike group in 38 years has achieved initial operating capability (IOC) and will deploy around the world this spring to Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific.
The Ministry of Defense said the strike group, led by aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, reached this milestone, meaning that the entire group has successfully achieved joint operations, including aircraft, radar systems, anti-ship weapons; qualified pilots and ground crews can carry out shipboard operations in a short period of time, while being trained to handle weapons and maintain equipment.
Meanwhile, the strike group’s destroyers and frigates successfully used anti-submarine warfare capabilities during this phase; fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, including helicopters, also proved they could operate in conjunction with the carriers. The Ministry of Defence described this as an important milestone for HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy and the UK as a whole.
In particular, the Queen Elizabeth carries F35B stealth fighters, partly from the U.S. Marine Corps, to avoid the embarrassing situation of “empty” decks due to the lack of British fighters. Although the strike group will begin its first operational deployment this year, it is expected to achieve full operational capability only in December 2023.
The Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group was first assembled last October in what was then described as the most powerful European-led maritime force in nearly 20 years. The strike group includes the British destroyers HMS Diamond and HMS Guardian, frigates HMS Northumberland and HMS Kent, supply ships HMS Tide Force and HMS Fort Victoria, as well as the U.S. Shenandoah destroyer USS Sullivan Brothers and Dutch frigate USS Efeltzen, and 10 U.S. Marine Corps F35Bs.
The USS Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group achieved initial operational capability.
USS Queen Elizabeth carries F35B stealth fighters.
USS Queen Elizabeth (front) is the core of the carrier strike group.
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