The British Are Coming – Royal Navy to Send Carrier to the Red Sea - On September 4, 1939 – just days after the British government declared war on Nazi Germany – Winston Churchill was appointed First Sea Lord, a post he had resigned from during the First World War. The Board of the Admiralty sent out a signal to the entire fleet, "Winston is back."

While the late Winston Churchill won't be making a return again, the Royal Navy signaled on Tuesday that it will return to the world stage, announcing that it will deploy an aircraft carrier to the Red Sea to counter drone and missile attacks from the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The British carrier will replace the U.S. Navy's USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) when it returns to the United States. This could be a crucial step as the Houthis have warned of a "long-term confrontation" in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, and it has been as necessary to maintain a significant presence – both to protect international shipping and also to drive home the point that the West hasn't been driven from the region.

Mohamed al-Atifi, the commander of the Iran-backed Houthi forces, warned that the terrorist group was prepared for a long conflict over the Red Sea. The Houthis, which control a significant portion of Western Yemen, have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks since November – claiming it is in support of Hamas in its ongoing war in Gaza. The Houthis have vowed to keep up the fight as long as Israel remains in Gaza.

While the United States has launched several carrier-based airstrikes from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower – notably involving the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet – the Royal Air Force (RAF) has been forced to conduct its attacks with the Eurofighter Typhoon from a base in Cyprus.

The UK's Ministry of Defence has branded ongoing action by the Houthis as "intolerable and illegal" and said Britain and its allies "reserve the right to respond appropriately."

Houthis Be Warned – the F-35 is Coming

The UK's Royal Navy has yet to commit to which carrier will be deployed. However, according to The Telegraph newspaper, the flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth was not at optical readiness due to naval staffing storage. That suggests her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales could be deployed to the region.

This could be the first combat operation for the latter carrier, while the former had launched sorties against ISIS targets during her deployment to the Indo-Pacific in 2021. Operating from the eastern Mediterranean, the aircraft carrier launched its embarked RAF and U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II multirole combat aircraft over Iraq and Syria.

And regardless of which of the two flattops the Royal Navy does send to the region, it will be deployed with the fifth-generation F-35B. The multi-role stealth aircraft would certainly be well-suited to striking targets deep within Houthi-held territory.

The F-35B can internally store up to six missiles for air-to-air engagements and eight bombs for ground attack missions, while it can carry up to four GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs with a maximum range of 10 miles.

In the standard stealth mode, the internal bay can accommodate up to 2.6 tonnes (5700 lbs) of ammunition. In contrast, in the "beast mode," the aircraft can carry armaments weighing up to 10 tonnes (22,000 lbs) internally and on wing-mounted pylons.

Winston may not be back, but the Houthis should be warned – the British are coming, they're coming with the Lightning II and are ready to strike.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].

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