However, Prof Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow for airpower and technology at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), warned that if HMS Queen Elizabeth deployed to the region it “could not generate the same embarked air wing capacity as the Eisenhower, even with US Marine Corps F-35Bs embarked”.
He added: “The UK has not bought enough F-35Bs to regularly generate more than 12 deployed jets on a sustained basis. Even that many permanently deployed would be essentially the whole capacity of the current force.”
Prof Bronk said the UK’s original requirement had been to have 138 F-35Bs that would enable 36 jets to be deployed on a more or less permanent rotation on whichever of the two aircraft carriers was at sea. He added: “The current F-35 force is a fraction of that size, so can only deliver a fraction of that capability.”
A Royal Navy source stressed the “interoperability” the UK and US have demonstrated over the years.
Asked whether Britain had enough fighter jets to put on an aircraft carrier in the event of it being deployed to the Red Sea, they said: “Everything we do is with our allies. HMS Prince of Wales practised with US Marine Corps in the autumn last year, showing out interoperability.”
Mitchell Reiss, a fellow at RUSI, said: “I don’t think there is any country where we have greater ‘interop’ than the US and the UK, and that starts with intelligence-sharing. I think it’s a testimony to the strength of the alliance that the UK is stepping up in this way to help the US and the West to keep this maritime stretch open.”
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
