Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government how they intend to achieve Full
Operating Capability for the Carrier Strike Group operating
within a Maritime Task Group configuration by December 2023,
given the requirement for 36 F-35B Lightning aircraft.
(Con)
My Lords, I declare my interests as a serving Army reservist.
However, I am today responding in my capacity as His Majesty’s
Government’s spokesperson for defence. The definition of “full
operating capability” for the carrier strike group includes 24 UK
Lightnings or 36 Lightnings with partner nations when operating
within a maritime task group. The programme is designed for the
flexible usage necessary in a modern defence capability,
including transporting a mix of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft,
but the composition and size of an embarked air group in a
deploying carrier will be tailored to meet the operational
requirements.
(Lab)
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for the Answer, but it just adds
to the confusion. When on 8 September I talked about 36 aircraft
being required for an FOC, I was told that the MoD did not
recognise the figure of 36— which surprised me because I had
written it into the requirement for the aircraft carrier when it
was built. On 23 December I was told, “Ah, for a full FOC, we do
need 36 of these aircraft”, so there is a certain amount of
confusion. I am confused and I am meant to know about aircraft—as
well as ships, I hasten to add—so I imagine the House is very
confused. I will ask the Minister a couple of questions, and if
he does not know, maybe he could write to me. First, is the full
operating capability of the carrier strike group to be reached by
December 2023, as I was told by the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie,
on 12 December? The other day somebody said, “No, it has changed
to 2025”, and I would like to know whether it has not. Secondly,
if yes, how is it possible, because we will have only 33 F35s in
our inventory in this country, so we cannot possibly put 36 of
them to sea? Lastly, will 809 Squadron—
Noble Lords
Too long!
(Lab)
I will stop there: I think that is enough questions. For an Army
officer, the Minister has made a great start.
(Con)
My Lords, there are currently 29 UK F35Bs in service. The
complement of assets deployed on the carriers will be flexible.
The air wing will be configured to meet defence needs for each
operation or deployment.
(Con)
Could my noble friend arrange with his colleagues for us to have
a full report of the lessons from the last carrier strike group
deployment, which I think ended in December, in the Indo-Pacific
and the Far East, including the unfortunate loss of one F35B?
What lessons arose from working with the Japanese navy? Once we
had that report, we would be able to judge more effectively how
things were going to go with the next deployment, which will of
course involve the “Prince of Wales” when it is ready.
(Con)
My Lords, we welcome the findings of the interim report into the
loss of the F35B aircraft in 2021. While it would be
inappropriate to comment fully until the final report is
published, we can confirm that immediate steps are being taken
after the crash to ensure the safety of earmarked flying
operations.
of Newnham (LD)
My Lords, I will add to the list of things on which the noble
Lord will write to the House, or perhaps he can tell us today.
Can he say when HMS “Prince of Wales” is likely to be operational
again? Are we likely to have two ships in the Queen Elizabeth
class that are both seaworthy?
(Con)
HMS “Prince of Wales” is expected to commence her operational
programme as planned in autumn 2023. However, an issue has been
identified with her port shaft. To prevent a similar defect
occurring, rectification of this issue is expected to be
completed prior to her planned departure. The defects with the
shafts of HMS “Prince of Wales” are not believed to be a class
issue, and HMS “Queen Elizabeth” will continue to undertake
strike carrier duties until 2024, when HMS “Prince of Wales” will
take over as strike carrier at very high readiness.
(CB)
My Lords, I did not quite catch the Minister’s Answer on the date
of full operating capability. Can he reassure the House that,
when it is declared, the F35B Lightning force will be fully
supported by all the logistics and the depth and quantity of
weapons supplies necessary for high-intensity conflict, which is
certainly not the case for most of our force structure at the
moment?
(Con)
I understand the point that the noble and gallant Lord is making.
In 2022, the number of UK F35Bs available for embarked operations
to support routine carrier deployments was a squadron of up to 12
jets. This number will increase to the full operating capability
for F35Bs, currently scheduled for 2025, which is up to two UK
squadrons. The Royal Air Force intends to continue upgrading
these aircraft in line with the wider programme and to equip them
with UK weapons, including the UK-developed SPEAR Cap 3 and
Meteor.
(Con)
My Lords, what is the present size of the Royal Navy and is it
sufficient for the purposes referred to in this Question?
(Con)
My Lords, I will have to write to my noble friend on the exact
size.
(Con)
Will my noble friend clarify the numbers on F35Bs? The noble
Lord, Lord West, clearly could not tell from the authorities
whether the date was December 2023 or 2025, so will my noble
friend clarify when we will be fully up to complement? Given the
tense situation because of Ukraine and our role as a maritime
nation, should we consider some form of lend-lease in the short
term so that we are up to full complement as quickly as possible?
(Con)
I understand what my noble friend is saying, but the CSG21
deployment saw the US Marine Corps F35 squadron integrated
throughout, which is a tangible demonstration of the UK-US
special relationship and our united efforts to ensure stability,
security and freedom of the seas. A further tranche of additional
F35 aircraft has been announced; once complete, it will bring the
total UK fleet up to 74 aircraft.
(LD)
My Lords, the original intention was that the United Kingdom
should take 138 of the Lightnings. Is that still the Government’s
intention?
(Con)
On current plans, by the end of 2025 the UK will have procured 48
F35B Lightning aircraft, which are capable of operating from both
land and the UK’s Queen Elizabeth-class carriers. As I said, the
intention to buy a further tranche of additional F35B aircraft
has been announced; when complete, this will bring the total UK
fleet up to 74.
(CB)
My Lords, the UK and France are the two European nations with
more than carrier strike capability, along with Indo-Pacific
nations. We have a UK-France summit coming up on 10 March. Is
there any intention to announce co-ordinated deployments of our
carrier strike capabilities towards the Far East?
(Con)
I would not wish to comment on specific locations of operations
for reasons that I am sure the noble Lord would understand. I can
say that we are always training and working with NATO and other
allied partners.
(Lab)
When will the refit of HMS “Vanguard” that has been going on
since 2015 be finished? It was recently discovered—just before
the engines were about to be fired up, as it were—that Babcock’s
workers had superglued bolts on it instead of replacing them. How
much has that put back the deployment of this ship?
(Con)
The noble Lord is correct that, as part of a planned inspection,
a defect was found. It was promptly reported and fixed. In light
of this issue, my right honourable friend the Defence Secretary
spoke directly with the chief executive office of Babcock to seek
assurances about future work. It is UK policy that we do not
comment on specific details of submarine activity or operations;
however, I can confirm that there were no nuclear safety
implications or risks associated with the identified defect at
any point.
(Lab)
My Lords, it has been reported this morning that the expected
update of the integrated review—which may address the concerns
around the carrier strike group—may now be delayed because the
initial draft failed to reflect the transformed security
environment in Europe. Was that not the main reason for it being
updated or are these reports wrong?
(Con)
As your Lordships are aware, the integrated review refresh is an
ongoing process and it would not be appropriate for me to
prejudge the outcome.
