LIGHTNING STRIKES

Rear Admiral Martin Connell, assistant chief of naval staff (aviation and carrier strike) tells Lindsay Peacock why the F-35B is a game-changer for the United Kingdom’s Carrier Enabled Power Projection (CEPP) capability.

More than two decades after signing up and seven years after the first Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning for the United Kingdom (UK) was officially accepted in July 2012 by the then Defence Secretary Philip Hammond at Fort Worth, Texas, the programme is at last gathering pace. Tangible proof of this is provided by the fact that both of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers have been completed, and operational employment of the principal combat asset – the F-35 – has begun. It would therefore appear to be an opportune moment to look at recent developments with the Lightning and to consider where it will be heading in the next few years.

Current planning anticipates procurement of 138 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning combat aircraft for service with the UK armed forces, of which 18 have so far been delivered. Apart from three retained in the United States for trials and development work with 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), the majority are now in the UK at RAF Marham, which is the home base for the Lightning Force. This received its first four F-35Bs on June 6, 2018, when 617 Squadron (Sqn) took up residence after forming in the United States in April 2018. Another five F-35Bs followed on Aug. 3, 2018, with the most recent transatlantic ferry flight involving six aircraft that arrived on July 16 of this year, allowing 207 Sqn to officially stand up at Marham as the F-35 Operational Conversion Unit with effect from August 1.

A more significant milestone was passed in January 2019 with the announcement that an Initial Operational Capability (IOC) Land had been achieved and this was followed by the first operational missions on June 16 when RAF F-35s flew over Syria and Iraq as part of Operation ‘Shader’. Looking ahead, another 24 aircraft should arrive by 2023, allowing 809 Naval Air Squadron to form in April of that year, as well as enabling the attainment of Full Operational Capability (FOC) by the end of 2023.

According to Rear Adm Martin Connell, assistant chief of naval staff (aviation and carrier strike) the F-35B is a game-changer in terms of UK carrier strike capabilities.

Royal Navy Photo, Crown Copyright

Lightning. More than 400 students have undergone various courses at Marham, of which just over 200 are primarily concerned with engineering, the ITC having completed two of each main trade course (mechanical and avionics) and two weapons courses.

The Queen Elizabeth c=Class

Elsewhere, on the carrier front, HMS Queen Elizabeth has completed her first overseas deployment and went back to sea on August 30 for a return trip to the Western Atlantic (Westlant 19) that will end in December. This is intended to facilitate operational testing onboard of UK Lightning aircraft, plus personnel from 17 TES, 207 Sqn, and 617 Sqn. The next stage – planned to take place in 2020 – will see 207 Squadron conduct carrier qualifications of an initial cadre of pilots and instructors, with carrier strike group integration training of UK and USMC Lightnings to follow later in the year. All of this preparation will open the way for the maiden operational deployment by HMS Queen Elizabeth as part of a carrier strike group in 2021. The UK contingent for that will be provided by 617 Sqn, which will embark alongside a US Marine Corps F-35B squadron. Sea trials of the second carrier – HMS Prince of Wales – are underway and she will conduct a similar work up programme with UK Lightnings in 2021, before making her first operational deployment in 2024.

The F-35B’s advanced sensor suite allows it to perform roles and missions previously carried out by multiple aircraft types.

Lockheed Martin Photo by Thinh D. Martin

Rear Adm Martin Connell, assistant chief of naval staff (aviation and carrier strike), has no doubt at all that the Lightning is assuredly a ‘game changer’ by virtue of possessing genuine multi-role capability as well as low-observable (LO) attributes that render it hard to detect and counter. This means that a single aircraft can simultaneously perform roles and missions previously entrusted to several different types. Air-to-air operations, offensive and defensive counter air operations, electronic attack, and intelligence-gathering all fall comfortably with the Lightning’s ambit. It is compatible with an extensive array of weapons, some of which are housed internally to maximise ‘stealth’, but more can be carried externally in a permissive environment. Situational awareness offered by the highly advanced sensor suite not only keeps the pilot ‘fully in the game’, but also gives him or her the ability to respond more swiftly and effectively than an opponent. Moreover, the F-35 can collect, analyse, and share data with other elements of a carrier strike group or other platforms, as well as with troops on the ground via secure data link systems.

At the core of all this is the Multifunction Integrated RF System/Multifunction Nose Array (MIRFS/MNA) suite, which marries Northrop Grumman’s AN/APG-81 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar with formidable electronic warfare and communications functions, enabling the Lightning to undertake network attack and perform advanced jamming. This system allows the F-35 to reach and engage well-defended targets, while simultaneously suppressing hostile air defence radars and thus eliminating the need for dedicated electronic attack aircraft support.

To sum up, the Lightning is, fundamentally, a powerful force multiplier, capable of enhancing all airborne, surface, and ground-based assets in the battlespace. In British service, the F-35 will follow the lead set by a previous STOVL aircraft – the Harrier – in being assigned to and operated by a joint force organisation that is composed of Royal Navy and RAF personnel, who will be equally at home flying from land bases or an aircraft carrier.