Experiencing the British Aircraft Carrier HMS Elizabeth Firsthand

On the afternoon of the 31st, during the Korea-UK joint maritime opportunity exercise, the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was navigating and stationed in the southern East Sea. 2021.08.31. Photo by Joint Press Corps

On the afternoon of the 31st, during the Korea-UK joint maritime opportunity exercise, a British fighter jet F-35B took off from the British aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth, which was navigating and stationed in the southern East Sea. 2021.08.31. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Ministry of National Defense Joint Press Corps · Asia Economy Military Specialist Yang Nak-gyu]The F-35B stealth fighter jet, deployed on the aircraft carrier, started its takeoff roll on the flight deck and swiftly took off with a roar within 5 seconds.

On the afternoon of the 31st of last month, we visited the UK's latest aircraft carrier, the Queen Elizabeth (65,000-ton class), which was conducting joint exercises with the Republic of Korea Navy in international waters east of Pohang in the East Sea.

The first thing that greeted the press corps, who arrived by helicopter from Busan in about 30 minutes, was a demonstration of two consecutive F-35B launches. Although the weather was cloudy with heavy clouds, fortunately, it did not rain.

On the 16,000㎡ flight deck, which is larger than two soccer fields, about 10 F-35Bs and 2 to 3 'Merlin' helicopters for reconnaissance and surveillance were on standby.

Everyone on the flight deck, including the press corps, wore helmets and goggles, waiting tensely and excitedly for the F-35B to take off. The crew emphasized to the press that they needed to brace themselves and hold firm.

When the crew sat down and gave the signal, the F-35B ran along the flight deck and took off into the sky. Thanks to the ski-jump shaped ramp, the F-35B can take off with a relatively short roll. Then, another F-35B waiting at the rear took off in the same manner. Although it is a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, it usually takes off with a short roll and only lands vertically.

Colonel James Blackmore, Commander of the British Navy Carrier Air Wing, said, "The Queen Elizabeth, which can carry up to 36 F-35Bs, can operate 72 sorties per day."

The Queen Elizabeth, visiting Korea for the third time after the Invincible in 1992 and the Illustrious in 1997, conducted joint exercises with the Republic of Korea Navy, which is pursuing the construction of a light aircraft carrier, in international waters of the East Sea.

In this exercise named the 'Korea-UK Combined Maritime Opportunity Exercise,' humanitarian search and rescue training and maritime logistics maneuver training, where both countries' ships exchanged supplies, were conducted respectively.

The Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group consisted of eight ships: two destroyers, two frigates, two support ships, and one submarine, with one ship each from the United States and the Netherlands also included.

In this exercise, only four ships excluding the US and Dutch ships and submarines participated alongside the Republic of Korea Navy's large transport ship Dokdo (14,000-ton class) and Aegis destroyers.

The search and rescue exercise (SAREX) was conducted by assuming a distressed vessel in a specific sea area, mutually tracking and searching locations, and exchanging communications.

Rear Admiral Steve Moorhouse, Commander of the British Navy Carrier Strike Group, explained, "The goal was to integrate the operation of helicopters and ships to conduct search operations efficiently without overlap," adding, "It was also important to confirm accurate information sharing through rapid communication between ships."

The Queen Elizabeth, commissioned on December 7, 2017, has a crew of about 1,600, an overall length of 284 meters, a beam of 73 meters, and a displacement of 65,000 tons.

Features include two bridges, conventional propulsion instead of nuclear, and automated armory and ammunition distribution systems, which are worth referencing for the Republic of Korea Navy pursuing the construction of a light aircraft carrier.

In fact, the concept design of the light aircraft carrier released by the Navy in January increased the number of bridges from one to two, making it very similar to the Queen Elizabeth.

A military official said, "The Navy is understood to be planning to deploy vertical takeoff and landing aircraft on the light aircraft carrier," adding, "This exercise will be an opportunity to closely observe how the F-35B is actually operated on the carrier and the automated systems such as the armory and ammunition distribution."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.