Frigates and helicopters operating with HMS Queen Elizabeth detect foreign
submarines helping the UK's biggest
warship to steer clear. Chinese warplanes were also in the air
but they kept a professional distance
while sending a signal of sorts by
turning away just within missile firing
range about 150 miles out.
Commodore Steve Morehouse commanding
officer of the UK carrier strike group
said, in that sort of cat and mouse type
game i am absolutely clear they are
turning away at ranges where they are
probably using us to facilitate their
own training in the same way that we
would do it towards them. So it wasn't causing us a concern. They were not engaging or locking us up
or anything like that whatsoever, but the ranges at which they were flying
it were indicative of what they would do
for real.
The new details about britain's maritime
encounter with china which happened
between august and october emerged as
the defense secretary said it is highly
likely the carrier will at some point be
used to launch airstrikes against
terrorist targets. This would be to take out people who
pose an imminent threat to the united
kingdom or our allies, Ben Wallace said
during a visit to the ship which is on a
stopover in Oman.
Sky News was this week given rare access
to the Queen Elizabeth on its maiden
deployment, dubbed operation fortis from
the UK to the far east and back. Escorted by a flotilla of royal navy
dutch in american warships and
partnering up with some 40 other
militaries on the way the carrier has
traveled more than forty thousand
nautical miles and counting since may. perhaps the toughest test for its crew
of some 1,600 sailors marines and airmen
was when russian jets closed in as the
carrier traveled through the eastern
mediterranean in june.
UK and American F-35 warplanes lined up
on board were scrambled to stop them
from flying overhead the first time in
living memory that British pilots have
launched at sea to intercept and escort
russian aircraft. It was great said commander Mark Sparrow
officer commanding 617 squadron which
operates the F-35 the UK's next
generation stealth warplane. It's exhilarating enough taking off the
carrier in normal times but when you're
doing it in a rush it adds that edge to
it and then to go and meet an SU-35 or
an SU-34 russian fighter jet.
Officers in the operations room said
they were prepared for a similar
challenge this time from china as the
carrier moved into the south china sea
the most anticipated leg of the journey.
We were expecting very much the same
response from the chinese, said Lieutenant commander Richard Tom Hanks, senior warfare officer. But this proved to be unnecessary. we saw chinese aircraft come out at
range and holding off at range so the
requirement to have the flight deck at
the right alert cycle was met but the
requirement to launch them F-35 jets to
intercept was never really needed, Lieutenant CDR Hank said.
Trey Morehouse described the chinese air
maneuvers as safe and professional and
appropriate ranges. The wider uk strike group of warships
and helicopters did have a chance to
hone their submarine hunting skills
though. On a couple of occasions we were
confident we knew where their submarines
were Tray Morehouse said, so we literally almost hold the
submarine where it is using our frigates
and helicopters and then we can move the
carrier around it, literally sidestepping
it so we can continue on our way safely.
Speaking about the experience of
operating in the south china sea the
commanding officer said he had directed
his team to show Beijing how good we
really are. This included flying F-35 jets 24 hours
a day while the accompanying frigates
and destroyers conducted other tasks. I believe we would have left a lasting
impression about where uk carrier strike
has come in a very short time, he said.
