Air Vice-Marshal Suraya Marshall, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, visited HMS Prince of Wales whilst it was taking part in Exercise Strike Warrior off the coast of the United Kingdom.
Arriving by Royal Navy Mk4 Merlin aircraft, she witnessed an F-35B Lightning launch and had a tour of HMS Prince of Wales' key areas.
Exercise Strike Warrior serves as a crucial test of the Carrier Strike Group’s readiness and effectiveness in a variety of complex combat scenarios. F-35B Lightnings from 617 Squadron have been taking part, joining 809 Naval Air Squadron and assisting the Royal Navy in conducting maritime operations, in addition to Typhoons from IX(B) and 1(F) Squadrons from RAF Lossiemouth.
Typhoon and F-35B Lightning aircraft form the backbone of UK Combat Air, together forming an interoperable, complimentary, and extremely potent force mix that offers persistence and a mass of sensors and weapons. This is especially important in the face of an advancing and proliferating threat.
The F-35B Lightning is a 5th generation, swing-role combat aircraft. This means it can perform the roles and missions of different aircraft types simultaneously. Equipped with advanced sensors, mission systems and low observable stealth technology, hostile radar systems cannot easily detect the aircraft, giving those nations operating the F-35 a significant tactical advantage in many operational scenarios.
F-35B Lightning are held at high readiness to deploy in support of UK and NATO operations Worldwide – from both land and sea.
