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Headline: F-35 Lightning Jets Take Off And Land On HMS Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier For First Time

Caption: The UK’s F-35 Lightning jets have landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time and are now gearing up for the vital testing phase on the aircraft carrier’s Westlant 19 deployment. The jets – flown by Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pilots – recently touched down on the 65,000 tonne carrier as it continues its work off the east coast of the United States. Now they are on board, the aim is to get them ready for operations from the carrier, which will become fully operational in 2021. “Getting to this point of embarking UK F-35 jets into our British-built carrier has been a significant joint undertaking by industry and military – both ours, and those from the United States,” said Commander of the Strike Group, Commodore Mike Utley. “We will take the jets from the successful developmental phase we achieved last year through to a more operational footing, so we are confident that the jets, the carrier and our destroyers and frigates will function seamlessly together.” During last year’s deployment, jets from the USA were used for developmental trials, with 500 takes offs and landings taking place during 11 weeks at sea. This time around it’s about planning sorties, arming the aircraft using the carrier’s weapons handling system and debriefing on the success of each phase.

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