Legendary 809 Naval Air Squadron returns to operate elite F-35s

The Commanding Officer of the legendary 809 Naval Air Squadron, resurrected as the second frontline F-35B fighter jet squadron at RAF Marham, has told Forces News about his excitement as he always dreamt of flying the combat aircraft.
The rebirth of the unit comes 82 years after the squadron was first stood up in 1941, since when it has operated the likes of the Fulmar, Sea Venom, Harrier and Buccaneer.
809 NAS becomes the first Royal Navy unit to fly the new stealth aircraft, operating alongside 617 Squadron, The Dambusters.
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[@SaxonSuccess]

I was an armourer on 809 Naval Air Squadron when we had Buccaneers. At Royal Naval Air Station Lossiemouth.

[@dnmurphy48]

My father was a PO and engineer on 809 at Honington and on Ark Royal.

[@daveco4645]

A is for armourer B is for armourer C .....😂👍

[@robertallardice8119]

Lucky the Commander has got bucking ears or he wouldn’t be able to see!

[@nnivo]

809 immortal. lets grow that to be a formidable force ready for 2026

[@itsjohndell]

Best of all luck to 809 and the entire FAA! I was USAF at Lakenheath when they were stood down. Welcome back, we may soon need you Im afraid...anybody need an old man?

[@JamesAlexander14]

I’m with you there. Trouble is I could be a danger to the rest of the squadron😂

[@user-ey8qk2zh7h]

I was TA (national guard for our American cousins), nothing very exciting. But always admired navy pilots. Your welcome here, and I also think it's right that we (UK & US) will need our service people more than every in the very near future. May be we can teach the Yanks to salute properly first though. :)

[@andrewray9200]

NO enjoy your free time, god bless ya need a rest.

[@henryvagincourt4502]

Same mucker, I was on a frigate in 1982, just about 18 years old, thanks to the huge support we got from the US of A.

[@andrewray9200]

Was you involved in falklands? @@henryvagincourt4502

[@reneestevez7193]

809th Saw glory at the Falklands! Respect and admiration.

[@philipjee4389]

Respect 🫡 to all are navy the uk 🇬🇧 is so lucky to have such a powerful force life would be very different with out it thank you soldiers

[@SaxonSuccess]

Soldiers??!? Which video were you watching?

[@giamannguyen797]

Nuoc anh qua suy yeu . Lam dong minh anh nen chi tieu nhieu hon. Tu do dang bi nga va trung quoc iran. De doa

[@maotseovich1347]

Nice to see the Fleet Air Arm back to dealing punishment!

[@Brookspirit]

He'll grow into that uniform i guess.

[@Lindsay1050]

Just add beer!

[@gazzergizmo]

Good luck to all to the immortals

[@RJM1011]

GOOD to see the UK now has more F35's but came to late to save myself and others from being laid off at EDL when the UK only had 18 at the time with most of those still in the USA back then.

[@Serbian_Slavic]

UK should have bought f35 A too for the Air force.

[@scarecrow108productions7]

From Buccs...to Lightning IIs. 809 returns!!!

[@deltacharlie1]

The fella needs a cap that fits....😂

[@jockstrapp21]

Did your wife say the same about condoms 😆

[@deltacharlie1]

@@jockstrapp21 no your mum did

[@Xenophon1]

Nice to see the FAA flying their F35B's. Cheers from the USA.

[@hog8035]

Get that man a smaller hat lol 😂

[@ReallyFarFarAway]

🤔 - What about the size of the Squadron Leader's hat .. ? 🤔

[@alanadair4893]

That’s what I thought

[@1IbramGaunt]

Maybe it's a normal size cap and he's just that tiny haha

[@jongulliver984]

Commanding officer he’s a commander.

[@user-be1lo9zd7o]

Good job his ears stopped it from slipping down over his eyes... soz, I do doff my hat to these people - but can't resist a little gibe towards his cap!

[@NoOne-hq9cp]

He'll grow into it

[@JohnHill-qo3hb]

Following seas and clear skies to all who sail in HMS Prince of Wales.

[@garyburford5774]

All aircraft flying from the carriers should only be FAA squadrons!

[@1chish]

And why so? So in '82 you really didn't need the RAF pilots flying SHARS as well as the RAF GR3s? All were flying off carriers.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

Why? The entire UK F-35 force is under 1 Group RAF anyway, regardless of the Sqn. They all have a mix of RAF and FAA personnel.

[@andyp9040]

I think having mixed experience is better. The raf and the navy operating together is far more effective!

[@photoisca7386]

@@andyp9040 They could still have Navy squadron numbers regardless of compliment and keep the accountants happy.

[@stephencook6188]

Wasn't it a Navy pilot who parked an F35B at the bottom of the Med?🫣 Leave flying to the RAF.😉

[@stuartemmanuel3735]

"immortals, we'll put their names to the test." King Leonidas and his 300 kills them all in battle. -300 Movie.

[@JJ_Khailha]

Love it.

[@Cous1nJack]

2:18 what’s the air like up there lofty. Chef feeding you well?

[@frankfischer1281]

Hopefully, the squadron will have another good run, this time around.

[@mandyfox9376]

Fly Navy 💙

[@typhoon2827]

That's not Nic's hat, is it 😂😂😂😂😂 Good job he had his ears on to hold it up off his eyes.

[@MBCGRS]

Fun fact... 50 % of all Fleet Air Arm fighter pilots in WW2 were New Zealanders.

[@magnuswalker7957]

And a lot of the pilots were Canadian serving in 802 Squ where my father was a CPO

[@MBCGRS]

@@magnuswalker7957 That's awesome. Go Canada. C eh N eh D eh...!

[@davidreeves-turner6572]

10% according to the Torpedo Bay Royal New Zealand Navy Museum… Brilliant and disproportionately large presence, but don’t over egg it!😂

[@MBCGRS]

@davidreeves-turner6572 I will quote from the same article.... "Many served in the ship-borne FIGHTER squadrons, reportedly making up approximately 50 % of such aircrew in the final stages of the war"... New Zealanders made up 10 % of the TOTAL Fleet Air Arm aircrew, 50 % of fighter squadron aircrew.

[@CM-vv8cv]

Britain owes a lot of thanks to many international pilots, Polish pilots especially so. We have a lot of respect for them.

[@jjsmallpiece9234]

The CO needs a smaller hat

[@fatmanfaffing4116]

Good job he's got ears... just saying

[@jjsmallpiece9234]

@@fatmanfaffing4116 Indeed, guess he could have them raised higher up his head.

[@mothmagic1]

Brilliant news, not before time though

[@Bo_Nidle]

Really good to see. That Squadron crest is impressive. But can someone please nip across to stores and get the Boss the right sized hat before he chafes his ears keeping it up?

[@pauldeegan6652]

Agreed. It's a bit embarassing that the CO is wearing a cap that is clearly too large for him.

[@henryvagincourt4502]

Ex F126 (Falklands) good to see the "Crabs" don't have every fix wing Squadron. If you are going to fly, Fly Navy.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

Still under 1 Group RAF control 😉

[@henryvagincourt4502]

@@Orbital_Inclination True mucker, mores is the pity, I tell you what lets base the F-35B at Marham, 100's of miles from the sea, RAF and MoD logic. I didnt see one F-4 Phantom over the Falklands until after the surrender mucker, Just FRS-1 and GR-3 all on Navy carriers.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

@@henryvagincourt4502 Marham is right next to the North Sea. Literally take off any fly North for a few mins and you're over the water. Distance to water in the UK is fairly irrelevant anyway, because you can get across the country in 20-30 mins by air.

[@tomsoki5738]

Second active squadron? So now we can have both carriers active with proper air wings simultaneously… about time

[@Orbital_Inclination]

The plan is to have one carrier available at any given time, with the other in maintenance. We don't have the personnel to man both simultaneously, and it was never the plan to.

[@tomsoki5738]

@@Orbital_Inclination it’s the plan until something goes wrong. When a war starts both would be in service simultaneously, just as it turned out in the Falklands

[@Orbital_Inclination]

@@tomsoki5738 only 28 Sea Harriers were available for use in the Falklands, so the RAF supplied 14 GR.3s. We already have around 40 F-35 available, so a comparable sized fleet of far superior aircraft.

[@tomsoki5738]

@@Orbital_Inclination The kind of war the carriers are likely to get involved in today on a large scale are much worse than the Falklands, lots of tension around British interests abroad, Cyprus, Indian Ocean Territory, Antarctic claims, Guyana and of course the Falklands again. Against the forces of Turkey, India, Russia, Venezuela and Argentina (soon to have a much for powerful air force) respectively. And those are just the ones which are solely British issues, China is a whole other problem

[@Tony.795]

@@tomsoki5738 Turkey is a NATO country.

[@elmerdelgado5835]

😍😍😍🔥🔥🔥

[@jimmysweat2200]

I saw the Phoenix immediately

[@randlerobbertson8792]

Painting them in different markings does not hide the fact that, the RAF is pitifully short of fast jets, ordnance, logistics, and fully trained British pilots. It will be good to see the Red Arrow next year though.

[@phooogle]

Now, times it by ten.

[@1IbramGaunt]

Don't tell them or us tell the damn government and MOD

[@phooogle]

@@1IbramGaunt I regularly do!

[@liamhemmings9039]

Need some As.

[@dmjohn65]

It would be better if the RN was operating the F-35C which the 2 Carriers were originally designed for IMHO.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

The carriers were originally designed for STOVL aircraft, with space left in case of the need for future CATOBAR conversion. That space was then taken up later in the design process

[@douglaskinloch6272]

The F35Bs should all be Navy, the RAF should have the F35As.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

That would be pointlessly expensive and logistically intensive, given the lack of commonality in parts and airframe design between the two

[@tylerdurden4006]

Do you have to do more "testing" to see if they are airworthy yet?

[@Orbital_Inclination]

No, they've been flying for years. The recent flight trials involving HMS POW were for a new lighting system to aid with rolling vertical landings

[@davroshalfbeard8368]

Will the phenix go low vise hope not but I understand why lol

[@grahamepigney8565]

809 Squadron RNAS shares the role with 617 Squadron RAF in what is effectively one squadron. Between the two squadrons they can't provide full air wings for the two extravagent Queen Elizabth class carriers. No critisism of the RNAS & RAF air and ground crews. BUT the UK needs to stop up to its ambitions of being a global power or be realistic about what it can afford,

[@philipcrabtree1679]

I am not sure how 809 Sqdn got credited with the Falklands War. When they didn’t fly any operational sorties during the Falklands War. When the SHAR arrived in the task force on Atlantic Conveyor all the aircraft were transferred as replacements and additional aircraft for 800 & 801 Sqdn on the 18/19 May 1982. The aircraft were immediately integrated into the two Sqdn and given 800 or 801 Sqdn numbers and the Sqdn logo painted on the tail. They the flew operational sorties as either 800 or 801 aircraft.

[@furiousscotsman2916]

Because the wing was reformed UNDER 809 Sqdn just because they got transferred once on the carrier does not mean the battle honours do not go to them, thats like saying any award won by a British soldier under American command during WW2 should go to the yanks because they had opperational command of any certain mission.

[@AA-xo9uw]

809 was responsible for qualifying the AIM-9L on the SHAR. A feat that was accomplished in just three weeks.

[@ssnfone3479]

Hekkin hek!

[@GM-fh5jp]

Cool :) If it comes to a slugging match you better bet on the RAF to walk away the Victors.

[@crowbar9566]

need rivet joints !!

[@MelonHead887]

Cool Phoenix logo. 👍

[@weeddegree]

🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@themerkin1953]

892 NAS next up for F35s?

[@WilliamSmith-fh1vx]

No chance unfortunately the RAF won’t allow it trust me standing 809 up is a token gesture the RAF have the monopoly why are they also flying Poseidon’s out of Lossie if that is a maritime reconnaissance &strike platform surely that should also be Navy expertise in that mission shouldn’t it not RAF.!!

[@1IbramGaunt]

Was there not enough RN/FAA guys to go round to make it an all Royal Navy squadron or something?!

[@admiralmallard7500]

Well in part yes. The FAA fixed wing squadrons were disbanded in 2006 and have only recently made a come back

[@Orbital_Inclination]

All UK F-35 Sqns are under 1 Group RAF command, and have a mix of RAF/FAA personnel. No reason not to, when they do the same job under the same command.

[@1IbramGaunt]

@@Orbital_Inclination the fine tradition of inter-branch rivalries means there's probably quite a lot of people who disagree with that "no reason not to" statement lol, the US Navy guys probably feel the same way about US Marine aviation and vice versa

[@Orbital_Inclination]

@@1IbramGaunt Inter-service rivalries in a professional military should be limited to sports/social events and crew room banter, not the actual business of warfighting.

[@georgemorley1029]

That would be down to the 2010 SDSR deleting carrier strike as a capability entirely for more than years. Because apparently the Tornado could “do everything a Harrier could do”. If by “doing everything a harrier could do” you mean “not at all”, and at three times the cost and three times the manpower and at many times the distance from the frontline. Which really helped the RAF protect its personnel control totals.

[@sparkiegaz3613]

So if Navy going to be operating the f35b are the raf going to get the f35a be great if happens

[@Orbital_Inclination]

Not as it currently stands. The UK fleet is entirely F-35B, and all under the control of 1 Group, RAF

[@davidrobertsemail]

Is it just the one plane then?

[@admiralmallard7500]

12 planes in an F35 squadron

[@grahamcook9289]

The RN and RAF sharing both aircraft and pilots? That's appears to be more evidence of the UK's military decline.

[@admiralmallard7500]

How is thar evidence of a decline? Its just pooling resources rather than having 2 separate organisations operating the same aircraft

[@Orbital_Inclination]

The RAF and FAA have shared pilots since at least the days of Joint Force Harrier. Why would they keep them separated when they do the same job in the same aircraft?

[@grahamcook9289]

@@admiralmallard7500 Maaate, the RN, even with pooling with the RAF, don't have enough F35Bs to operate both (very expensive to build and operate) carriers at the same time. One carrier is 'spare' for the inevitable broken down carrier. Time for the UK government and MoD to cut their losses and sell off one of the carriers. Anything they get for it would be a bonus as the major saving would be in the future ongoing staffing and operating costs. Give the damn thing to either the Aussies or Canuks, or the Japanese or Brazilians. Oe even the Jerries! The Aussies would be my favourite recipient though. AUKUS anyone?

[@admiralmallard7500]

@grahamcook9289 That would be idiotic to sell a carrier. Its not a Spare carrier, 2 carriers is the bare minimum for always having 1 available. Qnlz goes into refit next year at which point Pwls will take over for a year or more. Hence, will always have a flight deck available. The plan is not to operate both on deployment at the same time. They will rotate between Active and Training/Refit France has no carriers available because they only have 1. And you think Australia wants a carrier? They specifically don't, they can't staff it.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

@@admiralmallard7500 it's amazing how many people don't understand this fact, and assume we intend to run both carriers at the same time 24/7

[@cujimmy1366]

A space commander. How do I become a space cadet.

[@kael13]

We don't have a Space Force yet because we can't afford it.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

​@@kael13we don't need a separate space force. UK Space Command is part of the RAF, alongside Air Command. Unlike the French, for example, who've rebranded to an Air and Space Force, we're keeping the traditional name of the RAF

[@user-vy3ci2ks4d]

Crew with Simbólic phoenix 😅 Moreover you are trying to make sure your own morale booster

[@latch9781]

I think he has different standards on what constitutes very fast

[@saturnvmoon8592]

Alas too soon the day draws neigh when the phoenix squadron must cease to fly Tho fire and flames are forced to dwindle The immortal spark awaits rekindle The snuffing out could hardly be faster But watch the bird at the next disaster

[@bensmith7536]

Not taking away from military tradition, but the raw footage of the carnage in Ukraine including air combat takes the edge off the glitz when you have seen the reality of what the machines will do and troops are ultimately being trained for.

[@gigmcsweeney8566]

Why is it taking so long to make R09 fully operational with a full squadron of F-35s?

[@1chish]

It hasn't. No air wing is assigned specifically to one carrier. Even the US Navy with hundreds of aircraft don't. Not sure why the reporter mentioned PoW because 617 or 809 could be deployed to either carrier on their own or together.

[@jamiegray6931]

​@@1chishPOW is due to go on the 2025 carrier strike group replacing QE, hence why its mentioned that 809 will embark upon her.

[@gigmcsweeney8566]

@@1chish I'm not sure how many F-35s the UK currently has in its inventory, though it seems unlikely the RN would be able to have both carriers at sea with anything like a full contingent of fixed-wing aircraft onboard in the near future.

[@admiralmallard7500]

​@@gigmcsweeney8566That's not the plan anyway. The point of having 2 is that you can deploy 1 while the other is in training or refit, as was seen last year and will be seen in 2025

[@1chish]

@@jamiegray6931 Ah of course my bad. But it could still see 617 or 809 on board. Or even both.

[@guypenrose5477]

If you can’t fight, wear a big hat!

[@dontfearthereaperm9042]

Will they be deployed in the Philippines? I'm guessing they will be joining in the US-PHiL war exercise

[@abody499]

Fantastic, but a great pity that they operate in corporate interests, rather than the interests of the British people.

[@richardmurphy9006]

One wood pigeon or better yet a seagull and it's a gonner works on paper but real world like osprey notsomuch

[@Orbital_Inclination]

Plenty of single engine jet aircraft in the world, and modern engines are very resilient to debris

[@AA-xo9uw]

pogue

[@garypudney1763]

who dressed him ? he has more shoulder pads than an actress in Dallas and his hat i s falling down his ears ! A scary man - not !

[@johnallen7807]

And when are we going to get the 138 we were told were on order? 43 so far "ain't much of an air force" Sunak.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

The UK is getting 72 in total. This is alongside 100 or so Typhoons

[@johnallen7807]

So about half the original order and I bet the first ones will be out of service before the last ones arrive. 6 front line fighter squadrons is pathetic.@@Orbital_Inclination

[@Orbital_Inclination]

@@johnallen7807 Every generation of jets gets more expensive to buy and maintain, so that means we get less airframes for the same funding.

[@johnallen7807]

We should not be looking at what it costs, we should be looking at what we need. If we cleared out all the dead wood and waste in the NHS for example, like the 8000+ "equality & diversity" managers we could start having a properly armed and staffed services. Did you know the Army at 72500 soldiers is smaller than it was at the time of Waterloo?@@Orbital_Inclination

[@Orbital_Inclination]

​​@@johnallen7807you do understand that the situation is somewhat different to Waterloo? We had an empire to exploit back then to fund it, which we no longer possess. The NHS would be in a much better state if more people give up smoking, drinking, lost weight and went for a jog once in a while, but this is the situation we live in. Expectation has to match reality.

[@dallasyap3064]

Just let the Air Force operate all the fixed-wing planes, simple. That's what the Air Force is for, the aerial service branch of the armed forces.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

There are good reasons for letting the RN and Army operate certain types. It frees up budget for the RAF (one of the reasons the RAF was so keen to pass Merlin to the RN), and the different branches undergo different training, and therefore an Army pilot will have a greater understanding of ground forces than an RAF pilot, for example. That being said, all F-35 are under RAF control (1 Group), and every FAA/RAF Sqn is a mixture of personnel from both services.

[@justinmiller7173]

Why haven’t the F35’s been flown in combat? I suspect they are to expensive to be shot down.

[@jamiegray6931]

We haven't needed to.

[@cluckingbells]

According to reports they took part in Operation Shader during the UK's Carrier Strike Group deployment back in 2021.

[@davidhouseman4328]

They have flown in combat.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

​@@cluckingbellscorrect, although no weapons drops because we haven't needed them to yet

[@CM-vv8cv]

Because they aren't at war you helmet. The F-35 costs less than an F-15EX, go watch your clickbaity Russian funded articles.

[@romanborodin8129]

Ha ha! Dear RAF! Who are you preparing to defend your country from? Belgian, Norwegian, maybe from France? Now there is a great way to apply this expensive tinsel in just one well-known place😢

[@dazady452001]

These planes will never be used

[@admiralmallard7500]

They're already being used

[@gcarter1973]

Compared to other fighters the F35B is slow far & slow.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

Top speed is generally irrelevant as a stat, because any fighter travelling supersonic without supercruise will empty its fuel tanks before it manages anything useful.

[@gcarter1973]

@@Orbital_Inclination Of course speed is relevant! 🤦🏻 It's slower to turn or climb the B would lose against any top Russia or Chinese fighter.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

@@gcarter1973 speed is irrelevant for turn performance. Also, the F-35 is designed predominantly as a BVR fighter

[@gcarter1973]

@@Orbital_Inclination You don't know what your talking about! Speed is irrelevant! 🤣 The stealth not that good they get spotted from miles away! Even the S300 & S400 can engage from miles away & when F35B merge they won't stand a chance the F16s always beat them

[@CM-vv8cv]

@@gcarter1973 How is it? In the vietnam war and gulf war, aerial speeds never exceeded Mach 16. That's the top speed of the F-35. The F-35 is detected any outdated Russian and Chinese aircraft and engaging them long before dogfighting. If you think aerial combat is still like top gun then you have the knowledge of a 10 year old.

[@fatdoi003]

they've chosen the right plane indeed.... one that can fly in the air and dive into the sea.....

[@ivanconnolly7332]

A VTOL glass hammer.

[@alangunningham5667]

the big problem is that they are flying the worst and most outdated f35... the b version, its only good point is the v/stol ability ...it has no planned upgrades and the UK is the only one using it (one or 2 have been delivered to other countries ) so if it is to receive updates, the UK will have to pay for research and then pay for the upgrades.... they should have bought the C (carrier) version, it has already received 4 upgrades and has better performance, more weapons loadout and heavier loadout, better stealth, better avionics with huge survivability upgrade. to top of that the f35b has been forced onto the RAF too so they can pinch them from the RAF if needed, the f35a is the one the RAF needed, guess why ... again the f35a has already received 4 upgrades and is far superior to the f35b ... at present, we have 30 f35b's , half with the RAF.. so only 15 for the navy ... we have a carrier with a capacity of 40 f35b's so we are nowhere near the requirement for just one carrier and we have 2 carriers ....it will be 2050 before we have enough for 2 so we are letting the Americans use the second carrier free of charge ...we paid for the carrier, we pay for the upkeep, the Americans get to use it ...

[@admiralmallard7500]

The Americans aren't getting to use our carrier. You realise one will be in refit next year, that is why we have 2, so that 1 is always active Also you're wrong about lack of customers or desire to upgrade, Japan, Italy, USMC. Japan especially will want to fund upgrades as they expnad their carrier aviation. Heavier loadout is not a factor here, the F35B can carry anything we can currently put on it. There is no point in getting the A, we can't refuel it in the air, it has none of the weapons we want and it would require totally different maintenance requirements. We're better to expand our total fleet of F35s, rather than split it between different versions of it. Also are you going to cough up the extra 4 Billion for Catobar aviation?

[@davidhouseman4328]

The US is buying more F35Bs than F35Cs, as well as Japan, South Korea, Italy and Singapore buying F35Bs so far.

[@alangunningham5667]

@@davidhouseman4328 Yes both and Japan have got one or 2 (probably for ground attack role, especially as South Korea hasn't got any carriers and Japan only has planned non-helicopter carriers )but America is only buying them for ground attacks so wont need an upgrade ..sorry to sink your reply

[@davidhouseman4328]

@alangunningham5667 lol, you didn't "sink my reply". You said no else buying them and which I pointed out was total rubbish.

[@wizzy5202]

184 on order + 340 for the US "planned"

[@ipdavid1043]

legendary ???? lmao

[@admiralmallard7500]

Ignoring the battle honours?

[@ipdavid1043]

@@admiralmallard7500 invading many countries left no honors at ALL

[@admiralmallard7500]

@@ipdavid1043 pretty sure the Nazis were the ones trying to invade in WW2, and you think we shouldn't have defended British citizens in the falklands war?

[@PotatoSalad614]

@@ipdavid1043 they had reasons to be invaded

[@CM-vv8cv]

It's the most advanced fighter jet there is, the most mass-produced stealth aircraft & stealth fighter, and the first VTOL capable stealth aircraft, all for $30,000,000 less than an F-15EX. Yes, it's legendary.

[@richardmarsden5610]

Not a very good warplane, (poor range, ceiling, agility, performance, payload and very high maintenance requirements etc, etc ) but it will have to do as the Americans have nothing else to offer for carriers without catapults.

[@admiralmallard7500]

It's a great jet? It's range is equivalent to the F18, it's payload can carry anything the RAF currently plans to put on it, and it's agility is pretty good, whole point is to avoid a dog fight I'm the first place anyway. Also the only other jet the RAF/FAA would've been getting is the F35C, which has its own set of issues, not least the fact that it would require alot more training.

[@richardmarsden5610]

@@admiralmallard7500 All academic anyway for if any of the Nato carriers are engaged against any of the major tier-1 or 2 adversaries, they are likely to get sunk PDQ in the hostilities if they venture anywhere near F-35 strike radius range. Land-based bombers (i.e H-6, Tu-22M3 etc) and maritime aircraft are always going to have stand-off weapons that far exceed the CAP of the carrier task forces, before they even get in range of the strike-attack aircraft. (Su-30, Su-34, J-16, J-20 etc, etc)

[@admiralmallard7500]

@@richardmarsden5610 I mean yeh, that fact hasn't really changed since carriers were first introduced. But if you wanna get your jets to the other side of the planet quickly, a carrier is the way to go. And far better defended than any airbase.

[@PotatoSalad614]

this guy listens to RT News propaganda

[@zizukiki]

We have designed a new missile that can counter all F-35s, the Missile is called "Pigeon Wings 1000" hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahha

[@paulmartin4722]

Raf should have f35a.

[@admiralmallard7500]

Not unless the F35 force expands massively. F35B can carry everything RN and RAF need it to. Plus the F35A can't be refuelled by our aircraft

[@1chish]

Short answer: No it shouldn't.

[@naimaliahmed302]

@@admiralmallard7500 F35B and F35A have different type of fuel port??

[@admiralmallard7500]

@naimaliahmed302 Yep. F35A was built with the US Air force in mind, they use the boom arm refuelling method rather than the drogue and chute that other air forces like the RAF use.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

A mixed fleet would increase costs (low parts commonality, so essentially like operating two different aircraft types, plus no UK weapons integrated onto A variant), reduce force capability (less carrier-capable aircraft) and limit their utility (can't refuel A variant).

[@fordwrc2006]

Hurray up and get a couple of laps in round the Mach Loop. 🫡😁😂