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HMS Queen Elizabeth to begin F-35B trials

22nd August 2018 - 09:30 GMT | by Shephard News Team

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The Royal Navy's aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has departed for the US to carry out flight trials with F-35B fighter jets, the UK Ministry of Defence announced on 18 August.

The deployment, known as ‘WESTLANT 18’, will be the first-time HMS Queen Elizabeth will have sailed across the Atlantic.

During its trip to the US, the 65,000-tonne carrier will embark two F-35B test aircraft based out of Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, which are expected to carry out 500 take offs and landings during the carrier’s 11 weeks at sea.

The aim of these developmental trials is to ascertain the operating parameters of the aircraft and ship, in a range of conditions. Similar successful trials were conducted by HMS Queen Elizabeth at sea earlier in 2018 for rotary wing aircraft.

The trials follow the recent arrival into the UK of the first F-35B jets, based at RAF Marham. Operational testing usingBritish F-35B aircraft are scheduled to take place on board Queen Elizabeth in 2019.