Abstract

WESTLANT 18 saw a Role 2 Afloat (R2A) team deploy on HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH (QNLZ) to support the First of Class Flying Trials for the F-35 Lightning 2 aircraft. This team established the R2A capability onboard QNLZ and began the process of developing R2A support to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) operations. The deployment was a great success and many lessons were identified. The experience from this deployment is summarised and the current R2A support to CSG is described.