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69-555: The last Reforger exercise was Reforger 93. Exercise Steadfast Defender is the most similar military exercise that has taken place in the 21st century, also involving North American troops deploying across the Atlantic Ocean to exercise with European NATO allies. There is also the biennial Exercise Bright Star that involves operations in the Middle East. However, while NATO members (and other countries friendly to Egypt and

138-474: A 12,500-ton cruiser with missiles forward, six Westland Sea King helicopters and a flight deck aft, somewhat similar to Vittorio Veneto of the Italian Navy and a larger 17,500-ton vessel with a "through-deck", nine Sea Kings and missiles right forward. By 1970, the "through-deck" design had advanced into a Naval Staff Requirement for an 18,750-ton Through-Deck Command Cruiser (TDCC). In February 1963,

207-480: A Marine activity and policy does not allow for another country to do so. Invincible-class aircraft carrier The Invincible class was a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Navy . Three ships were constructed: HMS  Invincible , HMS  Illustrious and HMS  Ark Royal . The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platforms to counter

276-583: A PHOTEX, and finally parting ways. Originally, the Queen Elizabeth was scheduled to anchor in The Solent in order to maintain a COVID-secure state, however due to forecasted heavy winds, she instead docked alongside at HMNB Portsmouth with personnel remaining on board. On 21 May 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited HMS Queen Elizabeth in order to tour the ship and speak to the crew before their departure; followed by Queen Elizabeth II

345-665: A hull form based on that of the Invincible class, was commissioned specifically for this role. After the 1982 Falklands War , CIWS guns were added to the design. Illustrious had them fitted at the last minute before commissioning, Ark Royal had them added as a normal part of the building process, and Invincible had them fitted during her first overhaul after the Falklands. Initially, Invincible and Illustrious were fitted with two Vulcan Phalanx units; these were replaced with three Goalkeeper systems. Ark Royal retained

414-480: A large scale force deployment was planned that would deploy a division or more to West Germany in a regular annual exercise. The first such exercise was conducted beginning on 6 January 1969. Exercise Reforger 1988 is held to be the largest exercise during the Cold War. Involving around 125,000 troops, it was billed as the largest European ground maneuver since World War II . These exercises continued annually past

483-943: A number of locations, including the South Atlantic during the Falklands War , the Adriatic during the Bosnian War , and in the Middle East for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq . Invincible was decommissioned in 2005 and put in reserve in a low state of readiness. She was sold to a Turkish scrapyard in February 2011, and left Portsmouth under tow on 24 March 2011. Pursuant to the Strategic Defence and Security Review, 2010 , Ark Royal followed, decommissioning on 13 March 2011. This left Illustrious as

552-527: A potential replacement for the Australian ship, but the low £ 175 million ( A$ 285 million) offer price and the already-constructed state of the vessel prompted the Australian government to announce in February 1982 their intention to accept the British offer. In Australian service, the ship would have been named HMAS Australia , and would operate as a helicopter carrier until a later decision on

621-403: A sketch design for a 6,000- ton , guided-missile armed, helicopter carrying escort cruiser intended as a complement to the much larger CVA-01-class fleet aircraft carrier. The cancellation of CVA-01 in 1966 meant that the smaller cruiser would now have to provide the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) taskforce with command and control facilities. Two new designs were prepared for this requirement;

690-651: The Armee de l'Air , United States Air Force , and Royal Air Force all taking part in the French-led exercise, which was directed from Mont-de-Marsan Air Base . After finishing Exercise Steadfast Defender, the strike group made its first port visit in Gibraltar . After leaving port, the group entered the Mediterranean , where it undertook further exercises with Mediterranean NATO allies, including operating with

759-537: The BBC in succession to his two previous series about life on the carrier. Initially after leaving Portsmouth on the 22 May, the group straight away entered into another major NATO exercise – Exercise Steadfast Defender. Between 20 and 28 May in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal , the maritime element of the exercise included 18 vessels from 11 different nations, and was directed from

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828-612: The British naval facility in Singapore . It entered the disputed South China Sea region to conduct freedom of navigation exercises in the area. Whilst there, the strike group tracked Chinese submarines and used its anti-submarine assets to hold them off, allowing HMS Queen Elizabeth to steer clear. As of 3 September 2021 it was reported that Diamond had completed repairs, undertaken in Taranto, Italy and had put to sea to re-join

897-469: The Chief of Joint Operations , Vice Admiral Ben Key . The plan for the 28 week deployment was for the carrier strike group cover 26,000 nautical miles, and conduct over 70 engagements in 40 different countries. On 1 May 2021, it was announced that the documentary film maker Chris Terrill will be onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth for the duration of the deployment, in order to produce a documentary series for

966-654: The Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked Sea Harrier aircraft and Sea King HAS.1 anti-submarine helicopters. With cancellation of the aircraft carriers renewal programme in the 1960s, the three ships became the replacements for Ark Royal and Eagle fleet carriers and the Centaur -class light fleet carriers, and the Royal Navy's sole class of aircraft carrier. The three vessels saw active service in

1035-671: The Defence Infrastructure Organisation in order to accommodate the vessel. The ship was berthed there for five days between 15 and 20 March, before returning to Portsmouth. During her time in Scotland, the vessel also held a memorial service on board for the Second World War escort carrier HMS  Dasher , which suffered a major internal explosion and sank off Ardrossan in March 1943. In

1104-782: The English Channel and the Irish Sea to prepare the members of the ship's company, alongside this she conducted helicopter exercises with the Royal Air Force and the British Army 's Army Air Corps to maintain the aircrew for carrier operations. Once finished, the carrier sailed up the British coast to Loch Long in order to embark munitions at the Northern Ammunition Jetty of Defence Munitions Glen Douglas , which had recently been extended by

1173-635: The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle , before arriving at Souda Bay in Crete for a logistic stop. Prior to this however, HMS Defender , HMS Kent , and HNLMS Evertsen detached from the group and entered the Black Sea – a visit that was already planned prior to the heightened Russian activity in the region. Whilst in the Mediterranean, the strike group joined Operation Shader in

1242-519: The Hawker P.1127 VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft had landed and taken-off from the carrier Ark Royal and the subsequent Hawker-Siddeley Kestrel had undergone trials from the "Commando carrier" (an aircraft carrier operating helicopters) HMS  Bulwark . It was therefore perfectly possible that the new "cruisers" could be used to operate VTOL aircraft. The new ships were called "through-deck cruisers" and not "aircraft carrier". This

1311-562: The Invincible -class carriers then became the Harrier GR9 flown by two Fleet Air Arm and two RAF squadrons until they were retired in 2010. Invincible was decommissioned in July 2005, and was mothballed until September 2010. On 24 March 2011 Invincible left Portsmouth under tow for scrapping at Leyal Ship Recycling, Turkey. Ark Royal took over as the flagship, was planned to be decommissioned in 2016, but retired in 2010 following

1380-581: The Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 stationed on board the USS ; Iwo Jima land on HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time, along with the first launch of a Crowsnest radar-equipped Merlin helicopter from a Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carrier, and the first Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missiles being fired from a British F-35 fighter – the first missile firings from a British jet at sea for 15 years. Nearing

1449-704: The Queen Elizabeth ' s deck. In September 2020, as part of NATO's Exercise Joint Warrior 2020–2, the full carrier strike group of nine surface vessels and accompanying air wing assembled for the first time in the North Sea , under the command of Commodore Steve Moorhouse. While the carrier strike group disbanded and the ships returned to their respective ports, the F-35Bs undertook further exercises from their base at RAF Marham , including partaking in Exercise Crimson Warrior, in preparation for

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1518-609: The Queen Elizabeth on 27 April. The strike group's four Lynx Wildcat helicopters of 815 Naval Air Squadron left their base at RNAS Yeovilton on 1 May, and embarked on each of the four Royal Navy escorts. No. 617 Squadron RAF and their 8 F-35B fighters started to fly out of RAF Marham and embark on HMS Queen Elizabeth , on 3 May; before the final British aircraft to join the strike group, three Merlin Mk4s from 845 Naval Air Squadron , departed RNAS Yeovilton and joined RFA Fort Victoria later that day. During February 2021,

1587-571: The Strategic Defence and Security Review . Illustrious remained the only one of the class in service, but was also retired in 2014. After being laid up it left Portsmouth under tow to the shipbreakers in Turkey on 7 December 2016. Two larger Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carriers replaced the Invincible class, with the first, HMS Queen Elizabeth , commissioned in late 2017. They displace around 65,000 tonnes each – more than three times

1656-461: The ski-jump made it possible to launch in all conditions by propelling the aircraft upwards at the end of its take-off roll. Invincible and Illustrious were equipped with 7° ski-jumps, and Ark Royal carried a 12° ski-jump. The class also had, since 1976, a secondary role as a helicopter carrier, or LPH , in the reinforcement of NATO's Northern flank in Norway. In 1998, HMS  Ocean , with

1725-612: The Sea King HAS6 in the carrier-borne ASW role. Following the integration of the Harrier GR7, typical deployments included seven or eight of those aircraft, pushing the Merlin onto the carrier's accompanying Fort -class auxiliaries . The last wartime deployments of the class saw them in their secondary LPH role, as it was officially judged that Sea Harriers could provide no useful role in the missions. During those deployments,

1794-456: The US) are free to participate, Exercise Bright Star is not a NATO exercise. The Reforger exercise itself was first conceived in 1967. During the ongoing Vietnam War , U.S. President Lyndon Johnson announced plans to withdraw approximately two divisions from Europe in 1968. As a demonstration of its continuing commitment to the defense of NATO and to illustrate its capability of rapid reinforcement,

1863-611: The United Kingdom in order to join the carrier strike group for deployment. Between the 26 and 28 April, the 10 F-35B jets of the United States Marine Corps 's Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) that contribute to the air group, arrived at RAF Lakenheath ; the pilots that will operate with the strike group had already started a 14-day isolation period due to the COVID-19 pandemic . On 2 May,

1932-558: The acquisition of Sea Harriers was made. Invincible ' s service during the Falklands War showed that the White Paper's suggested reductions were flawed and both nations withdrew from the deal in July 1982. Prior to 1982, Invincible ' s air group consisted purely of Sea King HAS.5 anti-submarine helicopters and Sea Harrier FRS.1 aircraft. Typically, nine Sea Kings, and four or five Sea Harriers were embarked. This

2001-955: The actual plan to strengthen the NATO presence in Europe. In that instance, it would have been referred to as Operation Reforger . Important components in Reforger included the Military Airlift Command , the Military Sealift Command , and the Civil Reserve Air Fleet . The U.S. Army also increased its rapid-reinforcement capability by prepositioning huge stocks of equipment and supplies in Europe at POMCUS sites. The maintenance of this equipment has provided extensive on-the-job training to reserve-component support units. The last Reforger exercise

2070-488: The aircraft, along with ASW helicopters. The RAF Harriers proved to be a temporary aberration at the time, but a permanent addition to the usual air group was made due to lessons learned during the war: the Sea King AEW2A ( airborne early warning ) version. Illustrious carried the first examples of the type when it was rushed south in the aftermath of the Falklands War to relieve Invincible of its guard duty around

2139-628: The carrier needed fixed-wing aircraft to defend against Soviet reconnaissance aircraft. In May 1975, it authorised the maritime version of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier , which was successfully developed into the Sea Harrier . This meant that the design was reworked again to include a small complement of these VTOL aircraft. The comparatively short 170-metre (560 ft) flight deck made even STOVL rolling take-offs marginal for launching fully laden Harriers. The development of

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2208-1051: The carrier strike group's warfare staff partook in Exercise Virtual Warrior, a command and control exercise which tested how the ship's crew would react in the event of a crisis on the maiden deployment. The exercise picked right back up from when the group disbanded the previous autumn, and took place at the Maritime Warfare School, at HMS Collingwood in Fareham , utilising the base's combined simulation training suite. The strike group departed from their respective ports on 1 May: HMS  Diamond , HMS  Defender , HMS  Kent , and HMS Queen Elizabeth from HMNB Portsmouth; HMS  Richmond from HMNB Devonport ; RFA Fort Victoria , and an Astute class submarine from HMNB Clyde ; and RFA Tidespring from Portland Harbour . The vessels then made their way to Scotland to partake in

2277-445: The carrier's F-35B fighters, from 617 Squadron , crashed during operations in the Mediterranean. The pilot was able to eject safely. Early reports suggest some of "the covers and engine blanks" had not been removed before takeoff. Regular flying operations continued following the crash, with a multilateral cross-decking exercise that saw Italian aircraft operating from the Italian Navy flagship Cavour land, refuel and launch from

2346-412: The class embarked RAF Chinook helicopters , in lieu of their fixed-wing complement. Invincible ' s final refit was in 2004. Illustrious underwent a 16-month £40 million refit at Rosyth Dockyard during 2010 and 2011 in preparation for her new role as a helicopter carrier during the refit of HMS  Ocean . The Sea Harrier was officially retired on 1 April 2006. The principal weapon of

2415-472: The culmination of Exercise Strike Warrior, the ships of the Carrier Strike Group each returned to port in order to embark the necessary fuel and stores. On the 19 May, on her way back to port, HMS Queen Elizabeth met up with her sister ship HMS  Prince of Wales , which is currently undertaking Fleet Operational Sea Training , and sailed together for the first time before taking part in

2484-748: The deck of Queen Elizabeth , and US aircraft operate from the Italian ship. The strike group finally returned to the United Kingdom at the beginning of December. Alongside the major units mentioned, the group also consist of a number of personnel drawn from other units, including: 820 Naval Air Squadron (820 NAS) of the Royal Navy, composed of around 190 personnel and seven Merlin Mk2 (including 3 equipped with Crowsnest radar), provide airborne surveillance and control, and airborne anti-submarine capabilities. The anti-submarine aircraft can either be equipped with depth-charges or Sting Ray torpedoes , in order to protect

2553-463: The deployment was a chance to experiment with the downsized squadron and ensure that it is capable enough to meet the output that is required to execute the mission. The US contingent included 180 U.S. Marines to maintain and handle the aircraft on the flight deck and a team of 18 United States Navy ordnance specialists who handled the ordnance required by the Marine Corps fighters, as that is not

2622-471: The early 1970s delayed progress on the new ships, but the design continued to evolve. The order for the first ship was given to Vickers (Shipbuilding) on 17 April 1973. By now, the design was for a 19,000-ton "CAH" (helicopter carrying heavy cruiser, styled after the US Navy hull classification symbols ) with up to fourteen aircraft and a Sea Dart missile launcher on the bows. The government decided that

2691-659: The end of Exercise Strike Warrior the Carrier Strike Group met up with the vessels of Exercise Ragnar Viking that had been taking place off the Norwegian coast, which included the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, the Royal Navy's Littoral Response Group (North), along with the FS Normandie , HDMS  Esbern Snare , and HNoMS  Fridtjof Nansen ; the 15 vessels together conducted a show of force Photo Exercise (PHOTEX). Upon

2760-411: The end of the Cold War, except for the year 1989, until 1993. Reforger 75 marked the operational presence of the U.S. Marine Corps in Europe for the first time since World War I , when the 2nd Marine Division's 32nd Marine Amphibious Unit was deployed from Camp Lejeune , North Carolina as part of that exercise. Reforger was not merely a show of force —in the event of a conflict, it would be

2829-524: The evening of the 22 May, along with USS The Sullivans . On 23 May, HMS Diamond , RFA Fort Victoria , and RFA Tidespring departed from Devonport, Portland, and Loch Striven respectively; The final ship, HMS Richmond, left Portsmouth on 24 May. Once the Carrier Strike Group departed from the UK, operational command of the group passed from the Fleet Commander , Vice Admiral Jerry Kyd , over to

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2898-465: The exercise. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, port visits were restricted to only those needed for operational and logistical reasons, and all personnel were required to isolate for 14 days before embarking onto their respective ships. The over 150 aircraft that were involved in the exercise were based at RAF Lossiemouth , HMS Gannet , and Stornoway Airport . The exercise saw two MV-22B Osprey from

2967-750: The fight against Daesh ; before continuing on through the Suez Canal and stopping at the British military port in Duqm . However, HMS Diamond was forced to remain in European waters having suffered a serious engine defect. After the stopover at Duqm, the group proceeded across the Arabian Sea to conduct exercises with the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean , before calling for a brief stop at

3036-424: The final exercise before their deployment – the maritime element of NATO's UK-led Exercise Joint Warrior 2021–1, known as Exercise Strike Warrior, which saw the carrier strike group building on and enhancing the scenarios that were tested in the previously held Exercise Virtual Warrior. Taking place between 8 and 19 May, a total of 31 ships, 3 submarines, 150 aircraft, and 13,400 personnel from 10 nations took part in

3105-523: The first F-35B fighters belonging to VMFA-211 flew from RAF Lakenheath, and joined HMS Queen Elizabeth . 820 Naval Air Squadron spent the week before departure to Exercise Strike Warrior, on conducting dummy launch trials for the Sting Ray torpedo in Falmouth Bay ; before its three Crowsnest airborne surveillance and control (ASaC), and four anti-submarine Merlin Mk2 helicopters embarked on

3174-493: The first operational deployment of the UK Carrier Strike Group since 2011. The deployment was the largest single deployment of F-35 fighter aircraft since the programme started in 2006, and the largest fifth-generation fighter carrier air wing in the world at the time. Furthermore, HMS  Queen Elizabeth saw the largest number of personnel embarked since she entered service, and the group contained

3243-701: The first time in September 2019, when the Type 45 destroyer, HMS  Dragon ; Type 23 frigate, HMS  Northumberland ; and the Tide-class replenishment tanker, RFA Tideforce , came together to partake in NATO 's Exercise Cutlass Fury, off the coast of Canada . This exercise also marked the first time that British F-35s (from No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron of the Royal Air Force ) had landed on

3312-428: The forecastle filled in to increase the size of the flight deck. In the mid-1970s, the Shah of Iran expressed interest in acquiring three Invincible -class ships and a fleet of twenty-five Sea Harriers to provide fleet defence. When the Iranian Navy could not commit to providing sufficient personnel for manning the vessels, the ship order was cancelled in 1976. A later proposal to buy four "Harrier-type" vessels

3381-435: The group's initial operating capability which was declared on 4 January 2021. In 2016 the UK had moved a satellite in its Skynet military communications system eastward to extend coverage to east Asia and the western Pacific Ocean , and opened a ground station in Australia. HMS Queen Elizabeth departed HMNB Portsmouth on 1 March 2021, in order to conduct a period of working-up before deployment. She operated both in

3450-401: The islands of Japan. Whilst in the Indo-Pacific region HMS  Tamar and HMS  Spey , the Royal Navy's newly established permanent presence in the region, met up with the strike group, having just arrived in the area. In October, the strike group began its journey home - on 20 October, The Sullivans detached to begin its return to its home base of Mayport . On 16 November, one of

3519-423: The islands. In the aftermath of the Falklands, the typical air group was three AEW Sea Kings, nine ASW Sea Kings and eight or nine Sea Harriers. Analysis of the Sea Harrier's performance during the war led to the requirement for an upgrade, approval for which was granted in 1984. The Sea Harrier FA2 entered service in 1993 and deployed on Invincible to Bosnia in 1994. The FA2 featured the Blue Vixen radar which

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3588-568: The largest number of Royal Navy maritime helicopters deployed in over 10 years. The United Kingdom had been without a wholly-British deployable carrier strike group in almost 40 years; and without a deployable aircraft carrier altogether since 2014, when the final Invincible -class light aircraft carrier HMS  Illustrious was decommissioned – three years ahead of the two replacement carriers. The UK Carrier Strike Group re-formed in February 2015, with Commodore Jerry Kyd appointed as Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group ; only

3657-426: The middle of April, the Royal Navy began the process of administering COVID-19 vaccines to members of the carrier strike group in preparation for the deployment. The Secretary of State for Defence , Ben Wallace announced on 26 April that every sailor within the strike group would have received two vaccines prior to their departure. USS  The Sullivans departed Naval Station Mayport on 19 April, bound for

3726-420: The newly raised Joint Force Command Norfolk based on board the USS  Mount Whitney . The exercise included the carrier strike group and the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, along with both Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 and 2 . Concurrently, the embarked aircraft of 617 Squadron took part in Exercise Atlantic Trident 2021 over the south west French coast. The exercise ran from 17 to 28 May, with

3795-435: The next day, who also received a tour and spent time talking to crew members. HNLMS Evertsen departed from Nieuwe Haven Naval Base in the Netherlands, on 22 May; along with HMS Defender and HMS Kent , which both sailed from Devonport also on 22 May. HMS Queen Elizabeth was originally planned to depart Portsmouth on 23 May, however in order to avoid the strong winds that had been forecasted, she instead left port in

3864-403: The next year however, Commodore Andrew Betton succeeded him as commander, as Kyd became the first sea-going captain of HMS  Queen Elizabeth . HMS Queen Elizabeth was commissioned on 7 December 2017, and subsequently began the process of operational sea trials and training – including fixed-wing flying trials off the coast of the US. Subsequently, the UK Carrier Strike Group assembled for

3933-435: The ship and its escorts. The Falklands War changed that posture, since it proved that Britain needed to retain the capability to use carrier air power in its traditional role of power projection , both over land, and against enemy fleets. The Falklands War saw Invincible , and the larger and older HMS  Hermes filled to capacity with both the Sea Harrier and the Royal Air Force Harrier GR3 ground attack variant of

4002-422: The sole remaining ship, serving as a helicopter carrier from 2011 to 2014 when it was decommissioned as well. Although the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean remained in service, the Royal Navy was without a true aircraft carrier for the first time in nearly a century, until the commissioning of the first of two Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carriers in December 2017. The Invincible class has its origins in

4071-409: The strike group from both submarines and threats above the water; whilst the Crowsnest-equipped aircraft provide long-range, early-warning capability and can also be used to direct F-35B fighters on to their target. Ten of the air wing's eighteen fighters were from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) of the United States Marine Corps, nicknamed the "Wake Island Avengers". The strike group

4140-421: The strike group. Subsequently, the group took part in Exercise Bersama Gold 21 with the Royal Australian Navy , Royal New Zealand Navy , Royal Malaysian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy , to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Five Power Defence Arrangements ; before paying a visit to South Korea and then conducting exercises with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and United States Navy around

4209-403: The three Phalanx CIWS systems she was fitted with when built (she could be easily distinguished from her sisters by the Phalanx's distinctive white " R2-D2 " radome). Electronic countermeasures were provided by a Thales jamming system and ECM system. Seagnat launchers were provided for chaff or flare decoys. As part of upgrades during the mid-1990s, all three ships had the Sea Dart removed, with

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4278-470: Was Reforger 93. No further Reforger exercises were held after due to German reunification , the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and the end of the Cold War. The following units were earmarked to return to West Germany in case of war: 228th AHB (Attack Helicopter Bn.) 1st/227th. Newcomb's military service records and Newcomb's "History Book" Exercise Steadfast Defender The United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group 21 ( CSG21 )

4347-418: Was a British-led naval force that was deployed on Operation Fortis from May to December 2021. The Carrier Strike Group is seen as the beginning of the British Government's tilt towards the Indo-Pacific region in terms of defence and foreign policy, that had been announced in March through the Integrated Review . It was the first strike group deployment for the Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carriers, and

4416-425: Was also discarded, as were later negotiations to buy the Sea Harrier. The 1981 Defence White Paper and its planned reduction in the size of the carrier fleet saw Invincible marked as surplus to requirements, and the ship was offered for sale to the Royal Australian Navy in July 1981 as a replacement for the ageing aircraft carrier HMAS  Melbourne . The class had previously been considered and discarded as

4485-427: Was described as one of the most advanced pulse Doppler radars in the world. The FA2 carried the AIM-120 AMRAAM . The final new build Sea Harrier FA2 was delivered on 18 January 1999. Other improvements were made to the class during the 1980s and early 1990s, in particular to increase the ski-jump exit angle on Invincible and Illustrious to 12° to match Ark Royal . In later years, three other changes were made. One

4554-402: Was due to the fact that the originally envisioned mission for the ships was to provide the heart of ASW hunter-killer groups in the North Atlantic during a war against the Soviet Union . In that context, the main weapon of the carrier would not be its fighter aircraft, but its ASW helicopters. The fighters were on board to shoot down the occasional Soviet maritime patrol aircraft nosing around

4623-401: Was in part because CVA-01's cancellation was so recent, but also because the ships were intended to serve in traditional cruiser roles of C I and anti-submarine warfare, and were constructed like cruisers. The "aircraft carrier" name did not officially appear in association with the ships until the 1980 Defence Estimates referred to the Invincible s as such. Economic problems in the UK in

4692-415: Was the removal of the Sea Dart system, creating an increased deck park for aircraft. The Sea Dart magazines were converted to increase air-to-surface weapons stowage, and new aircrew briefing facilities created under the extended flight deck, both to support the embarkation of RAF Harrier GR7s as a routine part of the air group. The ships were all fitted to handle Merlin helicopters as the Merlin HM1 replaced

4761-417: Was the single largest deployment of the F-35 fighter since the beginning of the programme in 2006, and was also the first time the USMC has deployed a full F-35 squadron of 10 aircraft; USMC squadrons had 16 aircraft until reforms by General David Berger that are intended to transition the USMC to a lighter, more agile force. Lieutenant Colonel Andrew D'Ambrogi, the commanding officer of VMFA-211, said that

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