UK Carrier Strike Group

HMS Ark Royal and her task group in 2008.

The earliest iteration of the UK Carrier Strike Group originally formed in 2006 with Commodore Alan Richards in command.[2] It centered around either of two Invincible-class aircraft carriers, HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal.[2][4] In one of its final deployments, it demonstrated its capabilities alongside the U.S. Navy off the east coast of the United States during Exercise Auriga in 2010. Following the exercise, the captain of Ark Royal remarked: "Today was a great opportunity for us to demonstrate some of the capabilities that the UK Carrier Strike Group has, particularly the GR9 Harrier and Merlin ASW helicopters operating from HMS Ark Royal".[5][4] As an example of the size and composition of a UK CSG of that era, the Auriga CSG consisted of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, along with her air wing of Harrier GR9 strike aircraft, Merlin HM1 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters and Sea King MK7 airborne surveillance and control (ASaC) helicopters.[6] The aircraft carrier was escorted by the Type 42 destroyer HMS Liverpool and Type 23 frigate HMS Sutherland, in addition to French Navy submarine Perle and U.S. Navy destroyer USS Barry. RFA Fort George of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary provided replenishment.[7]

In 2010, the British government announced that all Harriers would be retired from service, along with HMS Ark Royal. This left Illustrious serving in a helicopter carrier role whilst replacement aircraft carriers and their associated air wings were procured. The UK Carrier Strike Group dissolved in 2011 with Commodore Simon J. Ancona as its final commander.[2] Illustrious later went on to decommission in 2014, three years ahead of her replacement.[8]

In 2015, the UKCSG was re-formed with Commodore Jerry Kyd as its commander. Under the direction of Kyd, the UK CSG Battle Staff grew to include 22 core One-Star Battle Staff by 2016.[9] Kyd was later succeeded by Commodore Andrew Betton during the same year, who himself was succeeded in 2018 by Commodore Mike Utley, before the current commander, Commodore Stephan Moorhouse, took command in 2019.[2] Prior to the entry into service of HMS Queen Elizabeth and her sister ship Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy cooperated with its allies to preserve and develop its skills in carrier strike group operations. This primarily involved Royal Navy ships and personnel training with U.S. Navy and French carrier strike groups.[10][11]

The current UKCSG assembled at sea for the first time in October 2020 during Exercise Joint Warrior.[12] It comprised a total of nine ships, 15 fighter aircraft, 11 helicopters and 3,000 personnel. The Royal Navy ships included the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth along with two frigates, two destroyers, a replenishment ship and a solid support ship. The U.S. Navy and Royal Netherlands Navy also provided an escort each.[12] The exercise saw the largest number of aircraft on a British aircraft carrier since 1983, in addition to the largest number of F-35B’s at sea across the globe.[13]

The exercise was a rehearsal for an operational deployment scheduled for 2021, known as CSG21.[14]

CGS21 will demonstrate a fully sovereign UK carrier strike group comprising:[14]

• HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08)
• HMS Diamond (D34)
• HMS Defender (D36)
• HMS Kent (F78)
• HMS Richmond (F239)
• An attack submarine of either the Trafalgar or Astute class.
• RFA Fort Victoria (A387)
• A Tide-class tanker

The UK Carrier Strike Group during Exercise Westlant 19, supported by two U.S. Navy escorts.

Following Exercise Joint Warrior, the UK CSG reached its initial operating capability (IOC) milestone in January 2021. This milestone marked the successful operation of all components of the CGS and made it available for operational deployments for the first time.[13]

The size and composition of the UKCSG varies depending on operational requirements which are decided upon during operational planning.[3] It typically consists of a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, two surface escorts (with one being a Type 23 frigate for anti-submarine warfare and the other being a Type 45 destroyer for anti-air warfare), a submarine and a fleet tanker.[15] In the future, escort duties will also be provided by the Royal Navy's new Type 26 frigate.[16] For replenishment-at-sea, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary provides its Tide-class fleet tankers, which were specifically designed to refuel the aircraft carriers, in addition to RFA Fort Victoria for dry stores.[17] Currently, Fort Victoria is the only ship capable of resupplying the aircraft carriers with dry stores, however a programme to replace her with three new solid support ships is currently underway.[18] Additionally, escorts and support ships may be provided by allies.[19] A number of overseas naval facilities have been established to support the UKCSG, including the naval base HMS Jufair and the UK Joint Logistics Support Base, which are located in Bahrain and Oman, respectively.[19]

The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers are designed to carry around 40 aircraft but can carry up to 72 at maximum capacity.[20] Its carrier air wing (CVW) will consist of up to 24 F-35B Lightning II multirole fighters by 2023.[21] This is in addition to around 14 helicopters of varying types.[22] For a Maritime Force Protection tasking, the CVW may consist of nine Merlin HM2 anti-submarine warfare helicopters and five Merlin HM2 Crowsnest for airborne early warning (AEW). Alternatively, for a Littoral Manoeuvre package, it may consist of a mixture of Chinook and Merlin Mk3i/4 transport helicopters and Apache AH1 and Wildcat AH1 attack helicopters.[21]