Centuries of history in one image
Hat Tip to the UK Defence Journal which tweeted this picture today of the supercarrier HMS Queen Elizabeth passing the berth of HMS Victory.
250 years of Royal Navy history in one image.
250 years of Royal Navy history in one image.
Comments
That includes a combat history when operating against superior enemy aircraft numbers and without AWACS support of 20 enemy fighters shot down for zero air-to-air losses.
You can find every imaginable opinion on the internet but the majority of what I've read suggests that in dogfight training exercises against allied air units Sea Harriers did well both against Mig-29s and against Tomcats.
Too early to judge whether the naval version of the F35 will be as successful as the Sea Harrier was, and I hope the MoD will keeping an open mind and carefully evaluate how well it performs when actually deployed, but as a non-expert in this field I find the arguments I have read for using V/STOL on the new carriers seem reasonable.