Carrier Strike Group 2021

‘The MOD states that F-35Bs operating from the Queen Elizabeth will support Operation Shader, fl ying combat missions over Iraq and Syria against Islamic State insurgents in the region’

Back in the carrier business Tim Ripley reports on Carrier n May 1 this year, the got from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Strike Group 21 as it sets sail back into the carrier strike business with Force and Republic of Korea Navy. on its seven-month mission to Oits new , HMS Queen Elizabeth The build up to this deployment has taken (R08), as it led the service’s largest task group several years. First preparations for it started to the Far East, during which it will in more than a decade out of Her Majesty’s take shape after HMS Queen Elizabeth finally demonstrate the regeneration of Naval Base (HMNB) in . took to the sea from the at Rosyth in the UK’s and naval The deployment of the 65,000 ton aircraft Fife, Scotland – where she was built – in June strike capability carrier is the culmination of the Royal Navy’s 2017. This was the formal start of the aircraft project to regenerate its fixed-wing strike carrier’s entry-into-service process, which aviation capability, after the 2010 Strategic began with basic sea trials and then gradually Defence and Security Review ordered the built up to more complex evolutions, involving Above: HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) – the Royal scrapping of the last Invincible-class carriers, air operations in co-ordination with large task Navy’s new fl agship aircraft carrier – sails as well as the accelerated retirement of the groups of surface vessels and submarines. alongside her sister vessel, HMS Prince of Wales UK’s famed Harrier force. In autumn 2018, HMS Queen Elizabeth (R09), at sea for the fi rst time on May 19, 2021 HMS Queen Elizabeth and the eight other sailed to the east coast of the US, to MOD Crown Copyright/Petty Officer Photographer Jay Allen vessels of her task group are now heading embark Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Right: A pair of Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning through the Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean fifth-generation short take-off and vertical IIs assigned to the RAF’s No 617 Squadron ‘The and into the eastern Pacific region. Visits to landing (STOVL) multi-role fighters for the first Dambusters’ return to HMS Queen Elizabeth Japan and South Korea will be the highlights time. By autumn 2020, the carrier and her crew following a training sortie on May 15, 2021 MOD Crown Copyright/Petty Officer of this deployment, with the group planning to were ready to participate in the complex Joint Photographer Jay Allen conduct joint exercises with ships and aircraft Warrior exercise off the west coast of Scotland,

92 // July 2021 #400 www.Key.Aero Back in the carrier business prior to the Royal Navy declaring the ship’s initial operating capability (IOC) in January 2021. The naval element The task group, dubbed Carrier Strike Group 2021 (CSG21), involves a mix of surface, sub-surface, support and air assets to allow the force to operate in a self-contained manner. Essentially, CSG21 is a ‘floating air force in a box’. Providing air defence protection for the group are two Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers, HMS Diamond (D34) and HMS Defender (D36), with anti-submarine protection being provided by two British Type 23 frigates, HMS Kent (F78) and HMS Richmond (F239). While at sea, logistical support will be provided by the ’s (RFA’s) fleet replenishment tanker, RFA Tidespring (A136), and the auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR)/fleet stores ship, RFA Fort Victoria (A387). At least one Royal Navy Astute-class

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HMS Queen Elizabeth’s deck crews have spent months training and preparing to co-ordinate the movement of F-35Bs and Merlin helicopters around the fl ight deck MOD Crown Copyright Right: A quartet of Leonardo Helicopters AW159 Wildcat HMA2 maritime utility helicopters from the ’s 815 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) depart RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset to join CSG21 MOD Crown Copyright/Leading Photographer Dan Shepherd Far right: The fl ight deck has been specially coated to protect it from the high temperatures generated from the exhaust of the F-35B’s unique Rolls-Royce LiftSystem MOD Crown Copyright submarine is also accompanying CSG21, to The aircraft of CSG21 underwater threats. Aircraft Serial/BuNo Callsign Service Unit Multinational participants in CSG21 comprise On April 27, the following flew up from RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall, to embark on HMS Queen Elizabeth. the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, These aircraft arrived while the aircraft carrier was still at HMNB Portsmouth, Hampshire. USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), and the Royal Royal Navy Fleet Netherlands Navy frigate, HNLMS Evertsen Merlin HM2 ZH824 N/A 820 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) Air Arm (RN FAA) (F805). The former adds considerable Merlin HM2 ZH827 N/A RN FAA 820 NAS capabilities to CSG21, including its ability to Merlin HM2 ZH841 N/A RN FAA 820 NAS launch Tomahawk long-range, subsonic land Merlin HM2 ZH857 N/A RN FAA 820 NAS attack cruise missiles and Standard theatre Merlin HM2 Crowsnest ASaC ZH843 N/A RN FAA 820 NAS missile defence munitions. Merlin HM2 Crowsnest ASaC ZH846 N/A RN FAA 820 NAS Merlin HM2 Crowsnest ASaC ZH856 N/A RN FAA 820 NAS The air element The tailored air group embarked on HMS The remainder of the aviation element embarked on the carrier after it had set sail on May 1, joining the ship while at sea. On May 1, four Wildcat HMA2s from RNAS Yeovilton, Somerset, joined the CSG21 task force off England’s Queen Elizabeth includes eight F-35Bs from south coast. These helicopters will operate from accompanying vessels for the duration of the deployment. the ’s No 617 Squadron ‘The Wildcat HMA2 ZZ518 ‘Martlet 1’ RN FAA 815 NAS Dambusters’, which are supplemented by Wildcat HMA2 ZZ530 ‘Martlet 2’ RN FAA 815 NAS ten additional examples from the US Marine Wildcat HMA2 ZZ514 ‘Martlet 3’ RN FAA 815 NAS Corps’ Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) ‘Wake Island Avengers’. Wildcat HMA2 ZZ535 ‘Martlet 4’ RN FAA 815 NAS This deployment will also mark the first The first British F-35Bs joined the ship while it was sailing up the Southwest Approaches on May 2. These aircraft came from RAF Marham in Norfolk. operational mission for the Royal Navy Fleet No 617 Squadron ‘The Air Arm’s (FAA’s) Crowsnest-configured F-35B ZM150 ‘016’ ‘Ghost 11’ RAF/RN FAA Dambusters’ AgustaWestland (now Leonardo Helicopters) F-35B ZM154 ‘020’ ‘Ghost 12’ RAF/RN FAA No 617 Sqn ‘The Dambusters’ Merlin HM2, which will provide an airborne F-35B ZM152 ‘018’ ‘Ghost 21’ RAF/RN FAA No 617 Sqn ‘The Dambusters’ surveillance and control (ASaC) role for the task group. Operated by 820 Naval Air F-35B ZM151 ‘017’ ‘Ghost 22’ RAF/RN FAA No 617 Sqn ‘The Dambusters’ Squadron (NAS), three Crowsnest-equipped The first USMC F-35Bs from VMFA-211 ‘Wake Island Avengers’ also embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth on May 2. These aircraft arrived on the carrier from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. Merlins have embarked on the Queen Elizabeth. The Royal Navy announced that F-35B 169621 ‘CF-01’ ‘Wake 11’ USMC VMFA-211 the first examples of the Crowsnest platform F-35B 169589 ‘CF-04’ ‘Wake 12’ USMC VMFA-211 – which are also nicknamed ‘baggers’ – had F-35B 169620 ‘CF-00’ ‘Wake 21’ USMC VMFA-211 entered operational service with the FAA on F-35B 169607 ‘CF-07’ ‘Wake 22’ USMC VMFA-211 March 24, 2021. F-35B 169678 ‘CF-05’ ‘Wake 31’ USMC VMFA-211 F-35B 169587 ‘CF-02’ ‘Wake 32’ USMC VMFA-211 All but one of the remaining British/American F-35Bs embarked aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth on May 3. A USMC F-35B – BuNo 169416 ‘CF-03’ (callsign ‘Wake 52’) – was also planned for a May 3 arrival. However, it was delayed, presumably due to a technical problem. It is unconfirmed when it eventually departed RAF Lakenheath. F-35B ZM147 ‘013’ ‘Ghost 31’ RAF/RN FAA No 617 Sqn ‘The Dambusters’ F-35B ZM153 ‘019’ ‘Ghost 32’ RAF/RN FAA No 617 Sqn ‘The Dambusters’ F-35B ZM155 ‘021’ ‘Ghost 41’ RAF/RN FAA No 617 Sqn ‘The Dambusters’ F-35B ZM148 ‘014’ ‘Ghost 42’ RAF/RN FAA No 617 Sqn ‘The Dambusters’ F-35B 169608 ‘CF-07’ ‘Wake 41’ USMC VMFA-211 F-35B 169610 ‘CF-08’ ‘Wake 42’ USMC VMFA-211 F-35B 169614 ‘CF-09’ ‘Wake 51’ USMC VMFA-211 A flight of three Commando Merlin HC4s departed RNAS Yeoviliton to join the task group on May 3. However, Participants of the Carrier Strike Group 2021 these aircraft have not embarked on the aircraft carrier itself and will instead be operated from the Auxiliary Oiler (CSG21) deployment fi rst assembled off the Replenishment ship RFA Fort Victoria, which is one of the support vessels being deployed as part of CSG21. west coast of Scotland to rehearse their Merlin HC4 ZJ129 ‘N’ ‘Furious 1’ RN FAA B Flight, 845 NAS mission to the Far East in October 2020. That month, the task force also took part in Exercise Merlin HC4 Z J127 ‘ L’ ‘Furious 2’ RN FAA B Flight, 845 NAS Joint Warrior MOD Crown Copyright/Leading Merlin HC4 ZJ121 ‘E’ ‘Furious 3’ RN FAA B Flight, 845 NAS Photographer Belinda Alker

94 // July 2021 #400 www.Key.Aero Defending Carrier Strike Group 2021 Projecting airpower against shore targets is the raison d’etre of strike carriers, such as HMS Queen Elizabeth, but big capital ships like this also need to be protected. As the navies of the US and Japan found to their cost in the Pacifi c naval battles of World War Two, if carriers are not protected properly, they are extremely vulnerable. Aircraft carriers in the 21st century need to have layered defences in place, to protect them from enemy air, missile and submarine attacks. CSG21 is no different. At the heart of its defensive screen are its Crowsnest ASaC helicopters. By elevating their Searchwater radars, these platforms can effectively ‘see over the horizon’, to provide vital early warnings of enemy air and missile attacks. Operators on board these helicopters can share the radar picture with other ships and aircraft within the task group, to ensure the best assets are in place to counter threats. The F-35Bs embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth currently boast a limited capability in the air-to-air ‘Tension with China over territorial disputes in this role. Although the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) has been integrated onto region will need to be navigated delicately by the the Lightning IIs, the pilots of No 617 Squadron and Royal Navy and British government’ VMFA-211 have been primarily trained to perform a strike role, and the aircraft’s radar is not optimised for 820 NAS is also providing further aerial This task group is being led by Royal Navy air-to-air operations. protection for CSG21, having embarked Commodore Steve Moorhouse, who has Due to this, the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers, four additional Merlin HM2s of a standard amassed plenty of experience in commanding with their Aster 15/30 and Sea Viper surface-to-air configuration to operate in the anti-submarine aircraft carriers, including the HMS Prince of missiles – along with the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class warfare (ASW) role. Wales (R09) – Queen Elizabeth’s sister ship destroyer and its Standard surface-to-air missiles – are To move personnel and supplies around – and the , HMS Ocean (L12), CSG21’s main line of defence against air and missile the task group, three Merlin HC4 tactical which was decommissioned in 2018. For this attacks. The last line of defence against any weapons transport helicopters from 845 NAS ‘Junglies’ deployment, some 3,700 personnel, nine ships, that manage to get through these outer missile have deployed aboard the RFA Fort Victoria. 18 fixed-wing aircraft and 17 helicopters will defences are provided by three Phalanx Close-in These helicopters have the secondary task of operate under Moorhouse’s command. Weapon Systems, which are on board the HMS Queen launching from 42 Commando Elizabeth and other warships within the group. on combat search and rescue missions, to Global presence In confi ned waters, fast patrol boats and small recover any F-35B pilots who might be shot The warships and squadrons participating in warships can be a major threat to CSG21, but the down in hostile territory. CSG21 gathered at HMNB Portsmouth in early British and American F-35Bs lack the dedicated The Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers May before setting sail for the west coast of anti-ship missiles to counter them. That task, therefore, and Type 23 frigates are each hosting an Scotland to take part in Exercise Strike Warrior falls to the Wildcat HMA2 helicopters, which can be AgustaWestland (now Leonardo Helicopters) – a certification strike rehearsal exercise armed with up to 16 Martlet anti-ship missiles to Wildcat HMA2 maritime utility helicopter. designed to get the task group working as an counter swarms of small boats. These helicopters are marking their first integrated unit. Later in the month, the group Countering enemy submarines is the main task operational deployment equipped with Thales’ returned to anchor off Portsmouth, to conduct of the Royal Navy’s Astute-class nuclear-powered Martlet anti-ship missile. final administrative activities before departing attack submarine, which is accompanying the task Additional maritime helicopter capabilities for the Mediterranean. group. Additional layers of anti-submarine defence are provided by an NHIndustries NH90 NATO A detailed programme for CSG21 has not are provided by four FAA Merlin HM2s, two US Navy Frigate Helicopter (NFH) from the Royal been fully revealed by the Royal Navy, due to MH-60Rs and a Royal Netherlands Air Force NH90 NFH, Netherlands Air Force, which has embarked diplomatic and security reasons. However, the which have dipping sonar and sonobuoy deployment on the HNLMS Evertsen. A pair of US UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced in capabilities to detect enemy submarines. They can Navy-operated Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawks January 2021 that HMS Queen Elizabeth would then launch guided torpedoes to defeat these have also joined CSG21 and are being sail to Japan for joint exercises with the Asian underwater vessels. employed from the USS The Sullivans. country’s maritime forces.

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In February, the MOD confirmed that CSG21 Joint Logistics Support Base there and the begin as the task group heads to Japan would carry out joint training with NATO allies in UK-based defence company, Babcock, runs a through the South China Sea, which is one of the Mediterranean, including an exercise with the that is big enough to accommodate the biggest political flashpoints in the world ’s sole aircraft carrier, FS Charles de a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier. This at present. As it sails northwards, additional Gaulle (R91). While the task group is in the region, visit will test the ability of the British base warships from the Royal Australian Navy and a number of its ships will make a foray into the to support the carrier while deployed in the US Navy are expected to join the group. Black Sea. However, the Queen Elizabeth will the Middle East and Indian Ocean regions, Tension with China over territorial disputes remain in the Mediterranean, as the international although, on this occasion, HMS Queen in this region will need to be navigated treaty that covers access to the Bosphorus strait Elizabeth will not be taken out of the water. delicately by the Royal Navy and British prohibits the passage of aircraft carriers into the The next phase will see CSG21 conduct an government. London has come out strongly region. Despite this, her aircraft are still able to exercise with the Indian Navy and possibly in support of regional allies – who are in fly missions in support of CSG21 warships that conduct joint air operations with its aircraft dispute with Beijing over these waters – and venture into the Black Sea. carrier, INS Vikramaditya (R33), as part of the is keen to demonstrate freedom of navigation Once this phase of the deployment is south Asian country’s growing co-operation through the South China Sea. However, completed, the task group will sail through with the UK and the US. While journeying to the British government will not want to get the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea. While the Pacific, the task group is expected to stop into a shooting war with China’s People’s CSG21 is in the vicinity of the Middle East, the and resupply in Singapore, where the Royal Liberation Army Navy. So far, government MOD states that F-35Bs operating from the Navy maintains another forward operating ministers have said the Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth will support Operation Shader, logistics base. and her task group will not sail through the flying combat missions over Iraq and Syria Taiwan Strait, which sits between the island against Islamic State insurgents in the region. Operating in the Far East state and mainland China. A port visit to Al Duqm in Oman is expected Once CSG21 has departed Singapore, the During her foray into the South China Sea, to take place. The UK MOD operates a most sensitive part of this deployment will HMS Queen Elizabeth and her task group are

In total, HMS Queen Elizabeth will fi eld 18 F-35Bs during CSG21. Ten examples from the USMC’s Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) ‘Wake Island Avengers’ will augment eight F-35Bs from the RAF’s No 617 Squadron ‘The Dambusters’ for the duration of the deployment. Together, the British and American F-35Bs will form the largest fi fth-generation carrier air group in the world USMC/3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW)/1st Lt Zachary Bodner

CSG21 will also mark the fi rst operational deployment for Thales’ Martlet lightweight multi-role missile (LMM). Thanks to the integration of Leonardo’s weapon wing launch platform, a single Wildcat HMA2 can be equipped with up to 16 Martlet munitions for a single sortie. This image was taken during a test fi ring event in May 2020 MOD Crown Copyright/Royal Navy

96 // July 2021 #400 www.Key.Aero Left: A USMC-operated Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey – BuNo 168666 ‘YS-13’ – from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 (VMM-162) ‘Golden Eagles’ launches from the fl ight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth on May 10, 2021. The aircraft transported additional Marines and equipment to the carrier for VMFA-211 Choke points USMC/3rd MAW/1st Lt Zachary Bodner On its cruise to the Far East, CSG21 has to pass Below: The Crowsnest-confi gured Merlin HM2 maritime helicopter will provide an airborne surveillance through or sail near to a number of choke points or and control capability for HMS Queen Elizabeth and the other warships participating in the CSG21 hotspots, which will test the alertness and defences of deployment. This role also encompasses an airborne early warning mission set, which will be vital when the task force passes near the numerous hotspots along its journey or through contested waters, such as its warships and aircraft. the South China Sea MOD Crown Copyright/Royal Navy • Red Sea: The passage from the Suez Canal down through the Red Sea and then into the Indian Ocean at the Bab-el-Mandeb strait is perhaps the zone of greatest danger for CSG21. The war-torn nation of has a 400km coastline along the Red Sea and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, which are present in the country, have regularly fi red powerful anti-ship missiles at international warships and merchant vessels operating nearby. At its narrowest point, the Bab-el-Mandeb is less than 30km wide, giving the vessels that make up CSG21 little sea room to manoeuvre, should they come under attack. • Strait of Hormuz: Although CSG21 is not confi rmed to be going into the Arabian Gulf – via the Strait of Hormuz – the waters of the Northern Arabian Sea are routinely patrolled by the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the nation’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Due to this, the task group will need to be on its guard against asymmetric threats, such as mines, unmanned aerial vehicles and converted merchant ships sporting missile systems, which could appear expected to pass the location where two World deployment – covering 20,000 nautical miles from unexpected directions while CSG21 is operating War Two Royal Navy battleships, HMS Prince – concludes. If all goes well, the whole task in the region. of Wales (53) and HMS Repulse (34), were sunk group is expected to be back in Portsmouth • Strait of Malacca: The waters between Indonesia, by Japanese aircraft in December 1941. This by Christmas. Malaysia and Singapore are narrow and congested, so was a traumatic shock for the Royal Navy and For the Royal Navy, the CSG21 deployment this is a zone where asymmetric threats from non-state was a clear sign of the waning influence of the will signify the beginning of a new epoch in actors could be in play. battleship in naval warfare. its history, with its largest-ever warships • South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait: This Once CSG21 has passed through the South being proven to be fully operational and zone is where CSG21 is expected to encounter China’s China Sea, it will be in friendlier waters off Japan ready to project naval air power around powerful People’s Liberation Army Navy and People’s and South Korea. Port visits are expected to the world. Liberation Army Naval Air Force. The Chinese military take place in both nations, in a bid to boost No doubt many lessons will be learnt has fortifi ed several disputed islands in the region with British trade with these powerful economies. The during the CSG21 mission that will be put anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile batteries, as well as signing of a maritime security arrangement with to good use in future deployments, but the with fi ghter bases. Although it remains very unlikely Japan earlier in 2021 is underpinning the visit symbolism of a British aircraft carrier again that the Chinese would open fi re on CSG21, they can of HMS Queen Elizabeth to the country, which being operational will not be lost on friends be expected to make life diffi cult for the group by has long-standing links with the Royal Navy, and potential adversaries alike. The Royal sailing warships in its path or using aircraft to harass stretching back to the 19th century, when British Navy will be well and truly back in the aircraft the force. This will require early warning of Chinese built the Imperial Japanese Navy’s first carrier business. AFM movements to allow F-35Bs and/or helicopters to modern battleships. get airborne, to provide top cover for the group and After concluding its visits to Japan and Read more about the HMS Queen Elizabeth, as well as deter the Chinese from getting too close. Co-operation South Korea, CSG21 will retrace its course the world’s other aircraft carriers in Key Publishing’s and co-ordination with the shore-based air assets of back home. More port visits and exercises new publication ‘Super Carriers: Aircraft Carriers of the regional allies will enhance the protective ring around with allied navies are on the cards as the 21st Century’: shop.keypublishing.com/supercarriers CSG21 considerably in these contested waters.

‘Although it remains very unlikely that the Chinese would open fi re on CSG21, they can be expected to make life diffi cult for the group by sailing warships in its path or using aircraft to harass the force’

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