In focus – composition, aims and future of UK carrier strike
Deployment of the UK’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to the Indo-Pacific in a few months is intended to be its defining military operation of the year, during which its armed forces are likely to face cuts amid a significant downturn in spending.
When HMS Queen Elizabeth departs the UK later this year to begin the deployment of the country’s renewed carrier strike capability to the Indo-Pacific region, it is worth remembering that a decade will have passed since the decommissioning of HMS Ark Royal in 2011 and the sudden gapping of fixed-wing carrier aviation.
That the capability gap has managed to be filled at all is testament to a multitude of efforts behind the scenes in the MoD, RN and industry. External factors too will have played a role in convincing the UK that it needed to be able to perform naval
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![US Navy $76.6bn award provides stability for submarine production]()
US Navy $76.6bn award provides stability for submarine production
The US Department of War’s US$76.6 billion Columbia-and Virginia-class submarine contract gives industry demand certainty as Washington seeks to rebuild its shipbuilding base.
-
![US Navy begins SPY-6(V)4 radar testing ahead of first Arleigh Burke destroyer backfit]()
US Navy begins SPY-6(V)4 radar testing ahead of first Arleigh Burke destroyer backfit
Wallops Island trials will validate the next-generation radar's combat system integration before its installation aboard USS Pinckney, the first Flight IIA destroyer to receive the SPY-6(V)4 upgrade.
-
![Hanwha Ocean deepens US ties and eyes Saudi submarine prospect after Canada setback]()
Hanwha Ocean deepens US ties and eyes Saudi submarine prospect after Canada setback
Hanwha Ocean is deepening ties with the US and eyeing a submarine opportunity in Saudi Arabia, as South Korea looks to convert its Canadian defeat into export momentum.
-
![A400M trial demonstrates airborne deployment of uncrewed surface vessel]()
A400M trial demonstrates airborne deployment of uncrewed surface vessel
Kraken Technology Group’s A400M airdrop of a K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel points to a new way for navies to insert USVs into contested waters, bypassing ports and motherships.
-
![Babcock onshores 85% of Canada’s submarine supply chain as it eyes future CPSP programme]()
Babcock onshores 85% of Canada’s submarine supply chain as it eyes future CPSP programme
By moving most of the Royal Canadian Navy’s submarine supply chain into Canada, Babcock Canada is driving to strengthen sovereign sustainment capabilities while preparing to compete to maintain the future Canadian Patrol Submarine Project.
