Initially procured to operate on Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, the UK’s F-35B Lightning II is expected to begin operating from the fleet. Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets are also to be used in this type of exercise, which is of strategic importance from the lessons learned from the current conflict in Ukraine.
Next year, Typhoon fighters from the Royal Air Force are scheduled to take part in training in Finland. Like Sweden, the Finns, who are now members of NATO, have a theory of operating their fighters from highways as an alternative to maintaining combat capability after airbases are destroyed.
For the F-35B, the operational strategy is still under development. The plan is to use aluminum plates on highways to allow for shorter takeoffs and vertical landings. A concern during this type of landing is to avoid destroying the asphalt by overheating the jet engine.
The information was sent to Aviation Week by Air Marshal Harvey Smith and marks a return to the British doctrine of deployed operations. It was precisely because of this operational requirement that the Harrier fighter aircraft were developed, initially developed for ground operations and later adapted to naval conditions.
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