Buying the stupid variant of the F-35 sure was a very wise decision.
Give the Marines a couple to play with, sure, but ALL of them are the version with reduced fuel capacity and no tail hook? VTOL is cool but not that cool.
The thing to remember is that the UK doesn’t have any CATOBAR capable carriers, so the only F-35 variant they can fly from their carriers is the VTOL capable one.
Nor the Italians nor the Spanish. The UK, Italy and Spain (And the Turks, Japanese, Australians, and probably others) are SOl, because they are forced to replace their Harriers with F35s, which are the only modern VTOL/STOVL, but have the whole “The US has you by the balls” thing.
I mean, they’re not forced to, it’s just a problem that requires tradeoffs. For example, France operates the CATOBAR-capable carrier Charles de Gaulle and specifically doesn’t fly F-35, choosing instead to fly the 4th gen Rafale for the express purpose of maintaining strategic autonomy.
Plus, unless you’re an island nation or doing expeditionary operations (i.e. the power projection game) you probably have little need for a carrier in the first place.
If you’ll only settle for a 5th gen jet that’s carrier capable, though, yeah you’re kinda out of luck. Su-57 is hardly even a 5th gen jet in the first place, and even if the Admiral Kuznetsov wasn’t continuously catching fire in dry dock, the jet still couldn’t launch from it for a variety of design reasons. Same story with China’s J-20. China IS developing J-35 for carrier operations, though, and the jet has launched from both STOBAR and CATOBAR carriers in tests from what I understand, but I don’t imagine they’ll export those for a VERY long time.
I actually didn’t know that, figured we’d be sharing the electromagnetic one from the Gerald Ford. Certainly wasn’t helped by retiring the Harrier early but seems a wiser strategic move to build a better carrier than keep buying nerfed jets
Nope, cope slope it is.
They do look like Really Sweet Ramps™ though. You could probably clear 25-30 garbage cans if you used Jimmy’s Diamondback.
You would think, right? They actually originally planned to include CATOBAR capabilities in their new build carriers, but budget cuts due to the cost of it forced them to scrap the idea, and then the rest of the purchase decisions followed as a result.
The whole idea of the F-35B is dumb and has been a huge albatross for the whole program.
The Brits also added an absurd amount of pressure by retiring the Harrier early, leaving the entire Royal Navy with no carrier-capable fixed-wing aircraft until the F-35Bs were delivered
Please do announce this louder. I’m getting used to being in public places, going to work and having family members. Reality is that I need a Chinese murder drone chasing me all day long.
What is it that the UK really uses these for anyway? Is the UK in any sort of military conflict or under any sort of military threat from anyone at present? I know they have to maintain certain readiness levels as members of NATO, but, still. I’m just curious as to what, other than air defense, the UK may be using these jets for.
Making sure the Argentinians don’t get any big ideas is one example.
At present? Keeping an eye on Russian ships “just out for a walk” so to speak, in waters nowhere near their immediate interests that happen to be a lot closer to British interests.
Why does that need to be a jet? To remind those ships that if they were to bring their own jets for whatever reason, not that they’d ever even have the remotest possibility of the merest inkling of a thought to do such a thing, we’d be prepared.
Mild sabre rattling. Also known as “international diplomacy”.
They are the sole British carrier-capable fixed wing aircraft, and have been used in NATO air policing operations. They are currently embarked on HMS Prince of Wales as it conducts its training and freedom-of-navigation mission in the Indo-Pacific.
Not really, but I expect they’d like to keep it that way.
