Putting the teeth back in the tiger: birth of a new era in British defence

In an exclusive report from the deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth, filmmaker Chris Terrill witnesses the first take-off and landing of the Royal Navy’s new stealth fighter, signalling Britain’s return to an elite club of world powers with carrier strike capability. HMS Queen Elizabeth, softly illuminated by a fading moon, slices through the choppy waters of the western Atlantic. The night sky is beginning to redden as the sun stirs below the horizon. The “Call the Hands” whistle to wake the ship will not be made for another two hours, but the Royal Navy’s biggest ever warship is already heading towards a secret location off the eastern seaboard of the United States where Britain’s new stealth fighters will land on her deck for the very first time. These will not be any old warplanes either, but the F-35B Lightning – an advanced fifth-generation stealth fighter. Britain hasn’t done anything like this on its own since the Harrier jump jet was scrapped in 2010.

The F-35 and HMS Queen Elizabeth were made for each other, but since it left the builder’s yard more than a year ago, the only aircraft to operate off the carrier’s massive four-acre flight deck have been helicopters. Today, all that will change as two British F-35s from the US naval air base at Paxutent River in Maryland will make the first attempt to land on the Queen Elizabeth using their unique and hugely powerful thrusters to “hover on”. No one is certain what effect the massive downward pressure and immense heat will have on the carrier’s deck even though it has been strengthened using a novel process –bonding titanium with aluminium and then covering it with a special thermal metal spray. But anything done for the first time using brand new and largely untested technology carries risk and today’s excitement is also laced with apprehension and anxiety.

For that reason, there has been a complete press blackout. Only we on the ship and those at the highest levels of the Ministry of Defence, the Pentagon and in Whitehall know what is about to happen.

I am on board for the entire fourmonth deployment to make a television series for the BBC and I share in the anticipation and exhilaration. As we wait with growing eagerness, I know that 100 miles away two British pilots will be going through their final flight briefings.

It will not be long before they pull on their pressurised flying suits, don their bespoke flying helmets and climb into their jets. One is Commander Nathan Gray of the Fleet Air Arm and the other is Squadron Leader Andy Edgell of the RAF. I saw them last week when we stopped at the US naval base in Norfolk, Virginia. I was struck by their quiet professionalism and determination but also their barely concealed excitement.

Both pilots, already at the top of their game, know that today will mark a new pinnacle to their already glittering careers though neither is taking anything for granted. Nathan, 41, will be the first to land on deck. “I could never have imagined as a young pilot that one day I would have this honour. To land this incredible aircraft on an equally incredible ship will be an extraordinary experience. It is humbling for me especially when I think back to the heroic airmen who have been attempting to land aircraft on moving vessels over the past 100 years.

“Squadron Commander Dunning of the Royal Navy was the first to do it successfully in 1917, though eventually paying with his life when he crashed into the sea. It is sacrifices like this that have brought us to this point in aviation history. We are merely taking up the torch.”

Andy, 38, the lead test pilot, is similarly humbled by the opportunity assigned to him.

“I have got here partly by skill, hopefully a bit of talent, certainly some great training, but also a large slug of luck. I do not take this honour lightly and I think it is fantastic that the ship will be a platform for both the RAF and the Navy together,” he said. Both men have been training for this day for the past two years, both in the US and on US Navy aircraft carriers. “We could not have done this without US backing and support,” Nathan said.

09.30

HMS Queen Elizabeth is in her assigned position but bad weather at Paxutent River has meant an agonising delay of 30 minutes to take off. Only about 60 people will be able to see the event live: the aircraft handlers on deck, who will guide the aircraft in and move them around on deck; those in Flyco (the air traffic control tower); and on the bridge where the navigator will keep the ship heading into the wind. The rest of the vast ship’s company will be watching below on televisions in their mess decks or on a giant screen in the main hangar.

I am in Flyco in a perfect position to film Nathan land on deck. I am standing right next to James “Blackers” Blackmore, Commander Air, who will oversee the landing. Blackers, a close friend of Nathan, was the last pilot to fly a Harrier off the Navy’s last aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal, in 2010. “It was a terrible shock when they suddenly announced the axing of the Harrier and the carriers. We have been in limbo ever since, but in a few minutes the Royal Navy will be back to what it should be. A major player on the high seas.”

‘We’ve been in limbo. In a few minutes the Navy will be back – a major player on the high seas’

‘Yes, the best is never cheap. But what do you expect us to do? Throw lemons at the enemy?’

A small speck in the sky grows rapidly as it hurtles towards us. It is followed by another small speck that grows in similarly spectacular fashion. Nathan and Andy have arrived and the sound of their F-35s is unbelievable – it rattles the bones. The helmeted aircraft handlers on deck take their positions as do all of us in Flyco. Andy flies round the ship as Nathan begins a slow, circular descent. Soon he is hovering off the port side of the ship halfway along the flight deck – exactly opposite me. I can see him clearly as his aircraft’s massive downdraft sends up clouds of sea spray and a host of tiny rainbows. The stealth jet edges over the ship. It steadies and, defying gravity, suspends itself above the flight deck before a very controlled descent.

Blackers, clearly emotional, gives Nathan a demonstrative double thumbs-up. He responds by shaking his arms in triumph. Everyone around

me cheers and bursts into spontaneous applause. I want to join in but have to keep filming. This is a moment I have a responsibility to capture for posterity. There is a real sense of pride and achievement around me and I need to monitor it, whether that means focusing on spontaneous back-slapping or searching out tearful eyes and quivering chins, of which there are a few. Soon Andy lands as well, triggering more applause and emotion. I move quickly around the ship to find everyone is smiling and cheering. I then go out on deck to film Nathan preparing to make the first launch of the F-35B off the ski jump at the bow and I note that the aircraft handlers are back to their fulsome and ebullient best. “F-35? Don’t know what all the fuss was about,” gushes leading aircraft handler Scouse Walsh, “piece of p-ss!”

10.30

Andy Edgell is as delighted as anyone but knows this is not an end point, just a new beginning. “Today’s landings represent just half of 1 per cent of the development and test flights that will follow over the next two months. The really hard work starts tomorrow.”

The F-35 might now be on board but its complicated hardware and software systems need to be integrated with the ship. The deck coating stood up well today, but continued monitoring is necessary to see how well it reacts to the immense thrust and heat pressures that will be exerted over extended periods of flying.

Having witnessed today’s landings, Jerry Kyd, the Commanding Officer, is in no doubt about the impact his ship will have when she deploys in anger for the first time in 2021 with many more F-35s. “This is an incredibly capable platform and we are proving it all the time.”

When challenged over costs, Kyd is now quick to react. “Yes, the best is never cheap,” he will say. “But what do you expect us to do? Throw lemons at the enemy?” And, pointing at the F-35s on his flight deck, he has a new mantra. “Look, we are putting teeth back in the tiger.”

Britain’s Biggest Warship, series two, will be broadcast early next year