Hello everyone you are watching another episode of Military TV.
The scheduled departure in May of the United Kingdom’s new Carrier Strike Group (CSG)
on its first operational deployment, led by the 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier HMS Queen
Elizabeth, will be a landmark moment. Even getting to this point has been a long and
tortuous voyage. The deployment itself, out to the Indo-Pacific region and back, has been
much heralded and its significance already much debated. There is no argument that the
initial operating capability on display represents an uplift in the UK’s maritime power-projection
potential. Before we talk further about their roadmap
to Indo-Pacific, it would be better if we know what is HMS Queen Elizabeth and the UK
Carrier Strike Group! HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and the
most powerful vessel ever constructed for the Royal Navy, it is the lead ship of the
Queen Elizabeth class of aircraft carriers and the Fleet Flagship of the Royal Navy.
She is named in honor of the first Queen Elizabeth, a World War I era super-dreadnought, which
in turn was named after Queen Elizabeth I. The
carrier Queen Elizabeth will carry her namesake ship's honors, as well as her Tudor rose-adorned
crest and motto. The ship began sea trials in June 2017, was commissioned on 7 December
2017, and entered service in 2020. Her first seagoing commanding officer was Commodore
Jerry Kyd, who was appointed in 2014 but didn't take command until May 2016, having previously
commanded the carriers Ark Royal and Illustrious. Due to the absence of catapults or arrestor
wires, Queen Elizabeth is designed to operate V/STOL aircraft. The air wing will typically
consist of F-35B Lightning II multirole fighters and Merlin helicopters for airborne early
warning and anti-submarine warfare. The design emphasizes flexibility, with accommodation
for 250 Royal Marines and the ability to support them with attack helicopters and large troop
transports such as Chinooks. She is the second Royal Navy vessel to bear the name Queen Elizabeth
and is based at HMNB Portsmouth. When on operations, Queen Elizabeth will deploy as the central
part of a UK Carrier Strike Group, comprising escorts and support ships, with the aim to
facilitate carrier-enabled power projection. Now let's talk about UK Carrier Strike Group
The UK Carrier Strike Group or (UKCSG) is a carrier battle group of the British Royal
Navy. It has existed in various forms since the mid-2000s. Between 2006 and 2011, the
formation centered around the Royal Navy's Invincible-class aircraft carriers until the
retirement of their Harrier GR9 strike aircraft in 2011 as a result of the Strategic Defense
and Security Review. The UKCSG subsequently returned in February 2015 ahead of the entry
into service of the new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08)
and HMS Prince of Wales (R09). The aim of the CSG is to facilitate carrier-enabled power
projection. As a unit within the Royal Navy, the UK Carrier
Strike Group's role is to facilitate carrier-enabled power projection (CEPP) in support of the
UK's interests. As a self-contained force, it is capable of operating independently or
as part of a wider operation. The unit is centered around either of two Queen Elizabeth-class
aircraft carriers, which are designed to carry up to 40 aircraft, with surface ships and
submarines providing protection from air, surface and undersea threats. Whilst the Royal
Navy has two aircraft carriers, the Royal Navy only plans to maintain one carrier strike
group at a time. In May 2021, the CSG will undertake its first
operational deployment, named CSG21. It will cover 20,000 nautical miles and will take
the CSG from the North Atlantic, through the Mediterranean and into the Indo-Pacific. The
CSG will include the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, Type 45 destroyers HMS Diamond
and HMS Defender, Type 23 frigates HMS Kent and HMS Richmond, and an unnamed attack submarine.
Underway replenishment will be provided by RFA Fort Victoria and RFA Tidespring. No.
617 Squadron RAF will provide F-35B Lightning II strike fighters, whilst 815 Naval Air Squadron,
820 Naval Air Squadron and 845 Naval Air Squadron will provide various helicopters, including
the newly-introduced Merlin HM2 Crowsnest airborne early warning system. Foreign contributions
to the carrier strike group will include the surface escorts USS The Sullivans of the U.S.
Navy and HNLMS Evertsen of the Royal Netherlands Navy, as well as F-35B aircraft from the United
States Marine Corps' VMFA-211 "Wake Island Avengers"
Even as it deploys in 2021, the UK’s CSG will represent a notable level of capability.
While it will not replicate a US Navy CSG, it will probably be closer to it than anything
else that is currently deployable (although France, with the Charles de Gaulle, may beg
to differ). For a medium-sized power like the UK, the further development of such a
capability will inevitably have to proceed incrementally given the resources available.
Whether the further enhancements already envisaged can be delivered, whether they can keep pace
with requirements, and what other developments will be required over the ships’ lifetime
will all be critical questions. Let’s go back to our main topic about their
roadmap to Indo-Pacific. HMS Queen Elizabeth and the UK Carrier Strike
Group are due to set sail in late May. The deployment has many objectives these include;
enhancing partnerships and conducting multi-lateral naval exercises and visits to many nations.
Although only a transient presence in the Indo-Pacific, it will act as a reminder that
the Royal Navy is back in the carrier game and post-Brexit Britain is interested in renewed
trade partnerships in what is now the most dynamic region of the world. It is a signal
to China and other potential adversaries that, in coalition with allies, the UK is willing
to uphold international law. For the MoD, it is a chance to prove the carrier, its escorts,
aircraft and supporting logistic chain can deploy over long ranges and operate in diverse
environments. It will also further deepen interoperability and integration with US allies.
In a foreword to the Integrated Review, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the upcoming
mobilization ‘the UK’s most ambitious global deployment for two decades’, adding
that it would demonstrate the UK’s ability to project cutting-edge military power in
support of NATO and international maritime security.
Want to know their route? Let's have a look at some details of the route that CSG will
take in the following map. This is only an indication of the outward
leg of the voyage, a venture which represents the culmination of decades of work and an
enormous amount of planning by various arms of government. Somewhat controversially it
seems to have been decided the CSG will not make the most provocative route through the
Taiwan Strait. And the last thing we need to know is how
long it will take for this cruise? Although the deployment is slated to last
around 6 months it is unclear exactly by what route the group will return to the UK after
operations off Japan. There are essentially 3 options:
#1. Circumnavigation of the globe, that is crossing the Pacific, round Cape Horn and
into the South Atlantic. This is probably unlikely, this requires a long time at sea
and diplomatic benefits are limited. #2. Head South from Japan, possibly visiting
Australia or even New Zealand but then return home roughly the way they came via Suez and
the Mediterranean. #3. Return on the westerly route but via Africa,
rounding the Cape of Good Hope and visiting West African nations.
If we consider, option two would seem to be the most likely.
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