The Dambusters join Big Lizzie! F35B Lightning jets from historic squadron land on £3bn aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth for first time
- F-35 Lightning Jets have landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth as ‘Dambusters’ squadron join the aircraft carrier
- The jets from 617 Squadron landed on board the 65,000-tonne warship off the coast of Portsmouth
- The aircraft will sail with the carrier next year on its maiden carrier strike group deployment
- The £3 billion warship has just completed a series of sea trials before it returned to Portsmouth last week
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F-35 Lightning jets have landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth as the ‘Dambusters’ squadron fully joins the Royal Navy aircraft carrier for the first time.
The jets from the 617 Squadron landed on board the 65,000-tonne warship which sailed from Portsmouth Naval Base on Sunday for flight trials off the south coast.
The aircraft that have landed on board will be the same that will sail with the carrier next year on its maiden carrier strike group deployment.
F-35 Lightning jets have landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth, joining the Royal Navy aircraft carrier for the first time
The jets from the 617 Squadron landed on board the 65,000-tonne warship in Portsmouth ahead of a series of flight trials
The jets will be the same that will sail with the carrier next year on its maiden carrier strike group deployment
Commander Mark Sparrow, commanding officer of 617 Squadron, said: ‘We are excited to be on board the carrier and we have been training hard to be here.
‘This is the first time the ship’s operational squadron has embarked and worked together.
‘The F-35 brings next generation capability to UK Defence through its ability to find, destroy or avoid enemy air defences and enemy aircraft whilst gathering intelligence data.’
Commander Ed Phillips, Commander Air on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, said: ‘Today is a significant day for HMS Queen Elizabeth on the road to delivering carrier strike operations for the Royal Navy.
HMS Queen Elizabeth completed a number of sea trials last week before taking on pilots and jets for flight trials
The tests are aimed to demonstrate that the jets can successfully defend the carrier through combat air patrols
The squadron will join the carrier for a series of multinational training exercises with US, European and NATO partners
The Royal Navy is shaping up to be a force centred on carrier strike by supporting ships as well as imposing no fly zones
The £3 billion warship has ambitions to deliver carrier strike operations for the Royal Navy and today was a big first step
‘We are at the heart of a world-leading capability for the UK and will soon have on our decks two squadrons of F-35s – from the UK and US – plus the protection of a strike group made up of destroyers, frigates and support ships.’
The £3 billion warship has just completed a series of sea trials before it returned to Portsmouth at the end of last week to embark pilots, engineers and support staff for the flight trials.
The tests are aimed to demonstrate that the jets can successfully defend the carrier through combat air patrols and the ability to take off at short notice, as well as check their ability to work alongside the ship’s Merlin helicopters of Culdrose-based 820 Naval Air Squadron.
The Queen Elizabeth is set to return to base by the end of June before embarking the jets again later this year for a multinational training exercise with US, European and Nato allies.
The Royal Navy is shaping up to be a force concentrated on carrier strike by supporting ships while they conduct carrier strike missions, position Royal Marine Commandos, send humanitarian aid, impose no-fly zones and construct international partnerships with allies.