US Marines and British Navy F-35B squadrons conduct synthetic military exercises off HMS Queen Elizabeth

What will be seen as a promising sign of enhanced cooperation between the armies of the United States and the United Kingdom, a squadron of the America’s Marine F-35B Lightning II The Joint Strike Fighters completed approximately two months of training on the British Royal Navy warship HMS Queen Elizabeth.

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In September of this year, the “Wake Island Avengers” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 and 617 Squadron “The Dambusters” of the Royal Air Force began to conduct joint exercises in order to operate interchangeably when the British aircraft carrier will depart on its first deployment.

Built by the British Ministry of Defense, the Queen Elizabeth warship is tailor-made for the deployment of the US variant F-35B stealth fighter jets designed for short take-offs and vertical landings.

The aircraft carrier, which had left for a short cruise from Portsmouth ahead of the exercises, is still in formation ahead of next year’s maiden voyage. The exercises are seen as a way to demonstrate that both nations can fight and maintain the warship’s advanced stealth fighter jets.

Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph FreshourCommander VMFA-211, in an interview, provided detailed analysis of how squadrons used aircraft suits while sharing parts and performing maintenance throughout the exercise.

“The interoperability of the F-35 program has really been revealed and the interoperability between our two units, our tactics, the digital side of how we tactically integrate with them, everything else – the way we maintain the plane – everything really went off without a real hitch, to the point that we were even able to share rooms when necessary ”,

We stole mixed items. So in our divisions we sometimes had a mix of British and American planes. We had British pilots leading some of our American wingers and vice versa. Said Freshour.

In an effort to test interoperability and interchangeability between the navies of the two nations, the squadrons of the two nations focused on performing warship flight operations during the exercises.

“The first day we got there and between the two squadrons we put 14 planes, then 15 planes when the last jet came in from the UK, which has nothing to do with what they ever could. practice.

So I think that’s where the biggest learning and growth has taken place, has been pushing the cockpit and preparing the cockpit for what deployment will look like in this size and scope. plane. said Freshour.

As part of the exercise, a total of 15 aircraft, including 10 belonging to VMFA-211 and five belonging to RAF 617, used the Crimson Warrior and the group exercise to train for flight operations and conduct maintenance procedures.

According to the Freshour, the two squadrons could use parts of another squadron’s F-35B if necessary.

“What was really cool was the digital side. So when you move from their side to our side in [Autonomic Logistics Information System], it was actually quite fluid and went very well ”,

Because that could be a big hurdle in performing this – this installation of this part. So it was actually a really good point to learn, is that we were able to do it and it went as planned.

What’s more, what will be welcome for US Marines is that training in the UK has given them experience working in weather conditions to which they are not accustomed. This is according to VMFA-211 Chief Executive Officer Major Christopher Brandt, who said:

“I think operating in very different weather conditions in the UK – our pilots are used to operating around Yuma, which is sunny, you know, 360 days a year”

So I think this flight experience – with the experience of the deck crew, like (Freshour) was speaking on the actual ship, as well as the tower personnel who run the tower operations – I think it is a huge thing to build on for when the actual rollout arrives in the spring.

The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighter capable of performing ground attacks and air defense missions. He is considered the ultimate crown jewel of Lockheed Martin alongside the exclusive American F-22 Raptors.

The variant used by the US Marines is the F-35B Short Take-off / Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant, which is considered the world’s first STOVL supersonic stealth fighter.

Advanced jets are designed to operate from austere bases and a range of air-capable ships close to frontline combat areas, with the ability to conventionally take off and land from more runways. long.