The then Chief of Staff (Aviation and Carriers) gives his audience a masterful guide to the past, present and future of air power at sea, starting from when the aircraft carrier displaced the battleship as the Royal Navy's capital ship to looking forward to the commissioning of the Queen Elizabeth Class of carrier.

Admiral Cunningham begins by listing the firsts achieved by the Royal Naval Air Service and how it evolved from the launch of the Mayfly in 1909, through into World War I and into the "fallow" inter-war years when the United States and Japan took the lead. He then outlines the resurgence of British Maritime Air Power during World War II and its importance in both the Mediterranean and Pacific theatres and subsequent conflicts, including the Korean War and the Falklands Conflict.

Turning to the contemporary world, Cunningham notes how many developing nations recognise the importance of Maritime Air Power and have a Carrier Programme. He comments on the demise of HMS Ark Royal and the Harrier and looks ahead to the technical challenges of operating the Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers, which were then due to be in service in 2019. He highlights the need to integrate the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft with the various radars on the ship, the key role of officers in the control room and the need to gain experience with the US Navy during the intervening years. He concludes by stressing the need for Maritime Air Power as an offensive and defensive element of a persistent and self-sufficient fleet at sea, which can respond to uncertain and changing threats.

Rear Admiral Cunningham took 20 minutes of questions which covered: the future role of UAVs; the integration of a helicopter on a destroyer; escort protection by an Air Defence destroyer; the importance of rehearsing as a Task Group; the role of joint RN/RAF operations; the reliance of the RN on the US for training and the decision to scrap HMS Ark Royal rather than HMS Ocean.

Rear Admiral Tom Cunningham addressed a meeting organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Air Power Group on 8 November 2011. The lecture was introduced by Rear Admiral Simon Henley CEng FRAeS and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

The material and information contained in this lecture are UK Ministry of Defence © Crown copyright 2011 and the recording is the copyright of the Royal Aeronautical Society 2011.