[Monthly Defense Times Editor-in-Chief An Seung-beom] It is reported that the Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier will visit South Korea this fall.
The Royal Navy sent Invincible-class light aircraft carriers (full load displacement 20,710 tons) on cruising training fleets to East Asia in 1992 and 1997, so this is not the first time they have sent an aircraft carrier in 24 years. However, since the Royal Navy retired the regular aircraft carrier Ark Royal in 1978, this is the first overseas cruising training of a regular aircraft carrier.
Two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers have been built, with the first commissioned in 2017 and the second in 2019. With a full load displacement of 65,000 tons, a flight deck length of 282.9 meters, and a width of 73 meters, the design approaches the width of the US Navy's Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which are 76.8 meters wide.
Although the UK's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers are under 70,000 tons, they are classified as large aircraft carriers. The US Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are around 100,000 tons and are given the separate designation of "supercarriers." The propulsion system of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers is the integrated electric propulsion type MT-30 series, capable of a maximum speed of 27 knots.
The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers adopt the US vertical take-off and landing stealth F-35B as their carrier-based fighter jets, operating with Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) methods. A ski-jump ramp is installed at the bow for F-35B take-offs, with an inclination angle of 12.5 degrees. The elevator that lifts carrier-based aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck can accommodate up to 70 tons. The hangar dimensions are 155 meters in length, 33.5 meters in width, and 6.7 to 10 meters in height.
The F-35B carrier-based fighters can carry and operate up to 40 units, but normally carry 30 along with 10 Merlin HM.2 helicopters. Operating 40 F-35Bs corresponds to a scale for actual combat missions, while 30 are used for routine cruising training. The Merlin HM.2 helicopters are anti-submarine warfare types, and the recently introduced Merlin ASaC.2 early warning type will also be operated together.
The crew is reported to number 1,279, with an additional 95 fleet command personnel on board. The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers' self-defense anti-aircraft armament consists of three 20mm CIWS Gatling guns and four 30mm single-barrel guns.
The Royal Navy set the Full Operational Capability (FOC) date for the two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers to 2023 and gave them the nickname "Carrier Strike."
The Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers' cruising training in East Asia serves to demonstrate the alliance with the United States and to conduct defense sales to South Korea and Japan, which have begun acquiring aircraft carriers. The sales targets for South Korea include aircraft carrier design and operation, technology, propulsion systems, and early warning helicopters. Just as the Invincible-class visits in 1992 and 1997 influenced the design of the large transport ship Dokdo, this visit is being prepared with high expectations.
The visit aims to significantly influence the Korean-type aircraft carrier CVX, whose specific direction will be finalized in the fall of 2021.
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