Four U.S., Japanese and British F-35 Aircraft Carriers Conduct Joint Show of Force Aimed at China

The navies of the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom have launched a high-profile demonstration of allied naval power in the Northern Philippine Sea, in what analysts have widely interpreted as a show of force aimed at China. The exercises under Operation Highmast have seen four aircraft carriers deployed, including a U.S. Navy Nimitz Class nuclear powered supercarrier and lighter Wasp Class carrier, as well as a Japanese Izumo Class carrier and British Queen Elizabeth Class carrier. All four carrier classes deploy the F-35 as their most capable fighters, although only the Nimitz Class ship can accommodate the more capable F-35C variant, with the three lighter ships accommodating the F-35B designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings which has far more constrained capabilities. The exercise represents the first of its kind involving carrier air wings from the three countries, and saw the Nimitz Class carrier also deploy large numbers of F-18E/F fighters, E/A-18G electronic attack jets and E-2 airborne warning and control systems.

Although the deployment of four carriers represents a significant show of force, the highly limited capabilities of the Wasp Class, Izumo Class and Queen Elizabeth Class ships means that the three vessels and their air wings collectively have a significantly lower combat potential that a single Nimitz Class supercarrier. Nimitz Class ships not only deploy more fighters, but also superior ones and much more advanced support systems. Aside from the U.S. Navy, such capable carriers are expected to be deployed only by China, which is set to commission its first supercarrier the 85,000 ton warship Fujian into service before the end of the year. The Fujian uses electromagnetic catapult launch systems which are significantly more modern and efficient than those on the Nimitz Class, and have been adopted on the U.S. Navy’s newer Gerald Ford Class supercarriers. A cause for significant concern regarding the future standing of American carrier capabilities are the deep cuts being made to the U.S. Navy’s program to develop a sixth generation carrier based fighter, which positions China to lead by several years in bringing such aircraft into service, with the result that its carrier air wings could by the mid-2030s be overwhelmingly more capable than those reliant on older F-35s and F-18s.