Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 18 December (HL4510), whether the Sea Lightnings carried aboard the Queen Elizabeth class will be a fully integrated part of the carrier battle group defence capability, as well as its long-range strike force.

Earl Howe

The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will be protected by a layered defence, the composition of which will be tailored to the threat faced. This defence may include, but not be limited to, submarines and ships within the Maritime Task Group (including their embarked Lightning II aircraft, helicopters and unmanned air systems) as well as land-based aircraft, where applicable.