BRITISH F-35 CONDUCTED FIRST REFUELLING IN FLIGHT FROM US NAVY'S F-18F SUPER HORNET

British Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning combat aircraft have for the first time undergone “buddy-buddy” refuelling behind a US Navy (USN) Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet. Conducted in the Asia-Pacific region during the UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) ongoing Carrier Strike Group deployment, the activity involved jets from the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) 617 Sqn, operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. 

“The refuelling occurred during exercises with the US Navy aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson,” the RAF says. It involved RAF and RN pilots. “A Super Hornet configured with external fuel tanks and AAR [air-to-air refuelling] equipment provided a valuable opportunity to carry out this training and enhance interoperability between UK and US aircraft carriers and their respective carrier-borne aircraft,” the service adds. 

flightglobal

Chinese Submarine Stalked USS.Ronald Reagan

A Chinese attack submarine stalked the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan near Japan last month in the closest encounter between a carrier and a People’s Liberation Army Navy submarine since 2006, according to American defense officials.
The Chinese submarine sailed very close to the Reagan during the weekend of Oct. 24.
The incident occurred as the Reagan sailed from its home port to the Sea of Japan around the southern end of Japan.
Days later, in the Sea of Japan, the Reagan was targeted for a close flyby by two Russian Tu-142 bombers that flew within a mile of the ship at an altitude of 500 feet. U.S. Navy jets were scrambled to escort the bombers away from the carrier group.
The submarine encounter also occurred days before the USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer, carried out a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea.
The Lassen’s passage within 12 miles of a disputed island in the South China Sea on Oct. 26 was fiercely denounced by the Chinese government. Chinese spokesmen, both military and civilian, said the passage was a violation of Beijing’s territorial sovereignty, a claim rejected by the United States, which said the ship was sailing in international waters.
Pacific Fleet and Pacific Command spokesmen declined to comment on the submarine encounter.
freebeacon

Russian bombers buzz carrier USS Ronald Reagan amid exercise

The carrier Ronald Reagan scrambled four armed F/A-18 Hornets Tuesday to intercept two incoming Russian bombers in a startling low altitude pass by 7th Fleet's aircraft carrier.
The TU-142 Bear bombers barreled by at an altitude of 500 feet and within a mile of the flattop, then participating in exercises with the Republic of Korea.
Navy officials characterized the interactions as safe.
The Reagan Carrier Strike Group attempted to raise the bomber on the radio but the Russians made no answer. Bear bombers have a long-range and are used for reconnaissance, though they can be configured and loaded out with cruise missiles and anti-submarine weapons, among other things.
Close encounters between U.S. Navy forces and Russian reconnaissance flights were routine during the Cold War and have reemerged as Russia has reasserted its military might in the wake of the country's 2014 forcible annexation of Crimea. Nations in Europe and Asia have expressed increasing concerns over Russian incursions into their airspace.
The recent uptick in Russian surveillance flights is a signal to the West that they are back in the game after years of low activity, analysts say.
navytimes