UK New super aircraft carrier ready for action carry more fighter jets, drones and large helicopters



Three times the size of the Invincible Class Aircraft Carriers, The UK large aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, has set sail for the …

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12 thoughts on “UK New super aircraft carrier ready for action carry more fighter jets, drones and large helicopters”

  1. The rule of thumb is 1,000 Tonnes, should be under each aircraft.

    These carriers, were supposed to carry 36 x Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning's. Which would breakdown as:

    1 x 12 Aircraft Squadron for Fleet Air Defence.
    1 x 12 Aircraft Squadron for Stealth Attack & Reconnaissance.
    1 x 12 Aircraft Squadron for Close Air Support of Amphibious Assault Forces, and backing up the Air Defence.

    Added to this, their should be,

    12 Leonardo AW101 Merlin HM2, Maritime Patrol and Anti Submarine Warfare.

    4 Leonardo AW101 Merlin HC4 (or possibly 4 x Leonardo AW149) for Combat Search and Rescue.

    Originally it was also planned, that there would be 4 x Leonardo AW101 Merlin's with the Crowsnest Airborne Early Warning system.

    Due to the funding crisis, it was decided, that a Plug & Play system would be developed, and the MH2 airframes would be used.

    But the MoD and Lockheed Martin, have f**ked it up. It's running 7 years late. And a Mechanical Radar scanner rather than a Phased Array is part on the mix.

    ****
    It would be nice if the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, actually had 72 aircraft, for the carriers, plus a training squadron, and an attrition reserve.

    In fact, it only has 28. And half of those are shared with the RAF's 617 Dam Busters squadron. The only currently existing Fleet Air Arm squadron is 809 Phoenix squadron exists.

    3 are kept in the USA and 1 was crashed out of the 32 that the UK has so far received.

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