The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN).

In April 1918 the RNAS, which at this time had 67,000 officers and men, 2,949 aircraft, 103 airships and 126 coastal stations, merged with the RFC to form the Royal Air Force.

[13] The year was significant for British naval aviation as only weeks before the founding of the Fleet Air Arm, the Royal Navy had commissioned HMS Hermes, the world's first ship to be designed and built as an aircraft carrier.

Over the following months RAF Fleet Air Arm Fairey IIID reconnaissance biplanes operated off Hermes, conducting flying trials.

At the onset of the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm consisted of 20 squadrons with only 232 frontline aircraft, and 191 additional trainers.

Following the Dunkirk evacuation and the commencement of the Battle of Britain, the Royal Air Force soon found itself critically short of fighter pilots.

[15] In British home waters and out into the Atlantic Ocean, operations against Axis shipping and submarines in support of the RN were mounted by RAF Coastal Command with large patrol bombers, flying boats and land-based fighter-bombers.

The Air Arm continued with high-powered prop aircraft alongside the new jets resulting in the FAA being woefully outpowered during the Korean War.

Nevertheless, jets were not yet wholly superior to propeller aircraft and a flight of ground attack Hawker Sea Furies downed a MiG-15 and damaged others in an engagement.

[16] When HMS Hermes was converted in 1980/81 to a STOVL carrier to operate Sea Harriers, a 'Ski-jump ramp' was fitted to aid take-off.

These carriers incorporated an upswept forward section of the flight deck that deflected the aircraft upward on launch and permitted heavier loads to be carried by the Harrier, for example in weaponry, and the system was used extensively in the Falklands War, with both Hermes and Invincible part of the Task Force.

[18] Two new Queen Elizabeth-class carriers able to operate the F-35B short take-off and landing variant of the US Lockheed Martin Lightning II aircraft were constructed.

Initially used in the search and rescue role, they were later developed for anti-submarine warfare and troop transport; during the 1956 Suez Crisis they were used to land Royal Marine Commando forces, the first time this had ever been done in combat.

Thirty three unmarried men signed up for eighteen months full-time flying training; however, before these first volunteers were able to gain their wings Britain was at war.

[28] The RNR Air Branch was commissioned at RNAS Yeovilton on 16 July 1980, and shortly afterwards 38 ex-regular aircrew began refresher training.

In late 1786, the third HMS Pegasus was stationed in the West Indies under then Captain Horatio Nelson, earning three of her four Battle Honours.

The zig zag was thought to have been taken from a Creeping Line Ahead, a parallel search pattern performed by FAA aircraft in a carrier task group.

The wings badges also feature a crown and fouled anchor in the centre, to reflect the maritime element of the flying undertaken.

The introduction of the F-35B Lightning II saw a restoration of fixed wing, front-line operations to the FAA after the retirement of Joint Force Harrier in 2010.

The Lightning Force is a joint RAF-Fleet Air Arm formation with all F-35Bs capable of operating from the Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

[35][36] Subsequently, following on the 2021 defence review, the First Sea Lord indicated that the new envisaged number was to be 60 aircraft initially and "then maybe more", up to a maximum of around 80 to hopefully equip four "deployable squadrons".

While 33 F-35B aircraft (including 3 or 4 based in the U.S.) were in the U.K. inventory by March 2024,[45] former U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace reported that the RAF and Royal Navy faced a considerable challenge in providing even the existing modest F-35B fleet with qualified pilots.

The average wait time for RAF trainee Typhoon and F-35 pilots, after completing the Military Flying Training System, was approximately 11 and 12 months respectively.

[47] Four types of fixed wing aircraft are operated by the FAA for training purposes: Pilot Grading is carried out using the Grob Tutor T1.

Twenty-eight AW159 Wildcat HMA2 helicopters perform a range of roles including anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare and airborne surveillance.

[53] Challenges involved in the Crowsnest program have led the Royal Navy to seek a replacement for its helicopter-based AEW platform with a new fixed-wing UAV, under Project Vixen, by 2030.

[54] As of 2024, the Royal Navy operated a number of small UAVs, including the AeroVironment Puma AE and Ebee Vision.

[55][56][57][58] In 2024, the Navy reported that there were a total of nine qualified Puma teams, six of which were dedicated to supporting the Royal Marines in 40 and 45 Commando.

[59] The FAA's inventory was further boosted with the addition of the Peregrine rotary-wing UAV which started trials on HMS Lancaster in August 2024.

[60][61][62] A number of unmanned systems are under development for the Fleet Air Arm including fixed-wing UAVs, envisaged for potential operation from the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.