英空母、来年初めにも極東に　対中けん制、日米と演習想定―有力紙

　【ロンドン時事】１４日付の英紙タイムズは軍高官らの話として、最新鋭空母「クイーン・エリザベス」を中心とする空母打撃群が来年初めに極東に派遣され、周辺海域に当面の間とどまる計画が進められていると報じた。海洋でのプレゼンスを強化する中国に対抗する狙いで、日本や米国との合同演習も想定しているという。
　２０１７年就役のクイーン・エリザベスは全長約２８０メートル、排水量約６万５０００トンと英海軍最大級の艦船。操艦要員は７００人で、航空要員を加えると乗員は１６００人に達する。極東派遣が初の本格航海となり、展開時には最新鋭ステルス戦闘機Ｆ３５Ｂ２個飛行隊を搭載し、４５型駆逐艦なども随伴。飛行隊は、英空軍と米海兵隊の所属機で構成する可能性が高いという。
　軍高官はクイーン・エリザベスの極東派遣に当たり、Ｆ３５を保有する日本と米国に空軍戦力として打撃群への参加を要請する案を策定。オーストラリアやカナダなど他の同盟国からも、潜水艦提供などの支援を見込んでいる。（2020/07/14-19:45）

British military leaders are drawing up a plan to deploy a group of warships to the Far East region, The Times reported Tuesday.
   A carrier strike group, including the HMS Queen Elizabeth, which was commissioned into the British Royal Navy in 2017, will set sail for the region early next year and stay in the area for a while, the British newspaper said. The deployment is aimed at countering China's increasing maritime presence, and the warships are expected to conduct joint exercises with Japan and the United States, it said.
   The HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most powerful vessel in the British navy, with a total length of 280 meters and total weight of 65,000 tons. The state-of-the-art aircraft carrier is manned by 700 personnel, and the crew reaches up to 1,600 when including personnel for aircraft on the ship.
   The Far East deployment will be its first major voyage. It will carry two squadrons of F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters and will be accompanied by Type 45 destroyers, The Times said. One of the squadrons will likely comprise F-35Bs from the British Royal Air Force and the other from the U.S. Marine Corps, it said.
   The military chiefs are considering asking Japan and the United States, which have F-35 fighter jets, to contribute air force units to the strike group, and as well as the inclusion of submarines and other vessels from allies such as Australia and Canada, the newspaper said.