Royal Navy Wants To Refit Its Carriers With Catapults, Arresting Wires

[moonstone_laura]

Hadn't heard about this before!

From 'The War Zone':

The U.K. Royal Navy has revealed details of its intention to fit its two aircraft carriers with assisted launch systems and recovery gear, enabling operations by a variety of fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft and, potentially, also conventional takeoff and landing crewed types. Ambitious in its scope, it’s unclear exactly how much of the program will be fiscally feasible.

Currently, the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth class carriers are able to operate short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B stealth jets, as well as helicopters. There have been previous indications that the service wants to at least explore adding different drones to its future carrier air wing. The Royal Navy has now also decided that it will kick off this project with tests of the General Atomics Mojave short takeoff and landing (STOL) drone on one of its two carriers later this year.

The latest Royal Navy carrier developments were announced by Col. Phil Kelly, the service's Head of Carrier Strike and Maritime Aviation, at the recent Combined Naval Event 2023 conference, and was reported by Naval News. Col. Kelly confirmed that, under the Future Maritime Aviation Force (FMAF) initiative, the Royal Navy is planning to retrofit arrestor gear and assisted launch equipment on its carriers.

The new FMAF plan includes Project Ark Royal, which Col. Kelly explained as follows:

“We are looking to move from STOVL to STOL [short takeoff and landing], then to STOBAR [short takeoff but arrested recovery], and then to CATOBAR [catapult assisted takeoff but arrested recovery]. We are looking at a demonstrable progression that spreads out the financial cost and incrementally improves capability.”

Full Story:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/r ... ting-wires

For more on 'Project Ark Royal':

https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/cn ... -carriers/

[red leader]

Incredible!! You really couldn't make this up!!

[quid21]

The new FMAF plan includes Project Ark Royal, which Col. Kelly explained as follows:

“We are looking to move from STOVL to STOL [short takeoff and landing], then to STOBAR [short takeoff but arrested recovery], and then to CATOBAR [catapult assisted takeoff but arrested recovery]. We are looking at a demonstrable progression that spreads out the financial cost and incrementally improves capability.”

...and then they are going to retro fit FUBAR

[Snoop 95]

The Royal Navy does not have Colonels although the Royal Marines do. Is this report genuine? It seems so incredible given the controversial history of the carriers' original design.

[MCB]

>The Royal Navy does not have Colonels

He's a Royal Marine.

[tornado17]

>The Royal Navy does not have Colonels

He's a Royal Marine.

I believe he was the first Royal Marine fighter pilot, I'm sure he flew Sea Harriers

[SeaFuryFan]

As Donald Trump would say "Fake news"

[grumpy616]

April Fool's Day has been and gone, hasn't it?

[Doughnut]

Interesting it mentions drone operations. So maybe not a fully functional cat/trap for the F-35 j or similar) but a small system designed for future drones ?

[Andy_99]

Maybe somebody somwhere has woken up & smelt the coffee. Suspect it will be for drone use but interesting the article mentions interoperability with other navies aircraft.
Trouble is BAE will get hold of the proposal, dream up a costing double or treble it & it'll never happen.

Suspect it'd be cheaper to start again on the build

[H.A.Bucken]

Gordon Brown's one-trick-ponies; they simply weren't thought through.
'Scenic in the Mist' aka Roger.

[RobinM]

It could well be fake news but here is another analysis of the idea from Ward Carroll. Make of what you will!

https://youtu.be/wM7xTL65quo

[thevulcan]

Another useful link here with a possible layout
https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/cn ... -carriers/

[Vulture 01]

Surely we went through this hoop years ago, when the carriers were being designed, then built.
If it were to go ahead, at least the RN might buy a few E2's so they had a capable AEW system.

...and whilst you're add it, add a few FA18's and Growlers to the mix to build up a capable force.

Sadly, it will never happen......

[EGDR]

This has been pretty well known to be in the pipeline for some time, a few years at least, primarily to support UAS operations. This latest presentation has just given it a name and fleshed the idea out a bit. And if you look at the actual presentation slide, which I'm not sure some people commenting have, you can see that UAS operations are still the main focus, with manned aircraft as a possibility.

At the time back in the day it was probably still the better option to go for STOVL only, given the cost penalties that had been identified with switching fully to CATOBAR and F-35C - we'd probably have ended up with a single carrier, if anything at all.

[Ravendriver2008]

The Royal Navy does not have Colonels although the Royal Marines do. Is this report genuine? It seems so incredible given the controversial history of the carriers' original design.

He is now Royal Navy Head Carrier Strike and Maritime Aviation Head Carrier Strike and Maritime Aviation. He was one of the RM pilots to fly the Sea Harrier FRS2 then Harrier GR7/9 and went to states on exchange in 2011 onwards starting on T-45C Goshawk and then F/A-18E Super Hornet at NAS OCeana carrier qualified. at the time the only fast jet Royal Marines.

Cheers

[Ravendriver2008]

As Donald Trump would say "Fake news"

Hell no its not

https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/cn ... rettyPhoto

cheers

[cat1]

the day after the wires and catapults are fitted,

'Royal Navy Decides To Remove Catapults, Arresting Wires From Aircraft Carriers'

[moonstone_laura]

Perhaps the key take-out is the last line of the first paragraph in the 'War Zone' article:

Ambitious in its scope, it’s unclear exactly how much of the program will be fiscally feasible.

[marku51]

As others have stated this seems very much oriented towards UAV. With the new Electromagnetic catapults being used on the Ford class carriers it may be possible to retrofit this without tearing too much of the ship apart, but it'll still be a major refit.

It is ambitious, I don't think I would hold my breath waiting for it to happen. And what does come out will probably be a limited capability to launch and recover heavier UAVs.