Editing Fleet Air Arm (section)

===Post Cold War===
[[File:Four FA2 Sea Harriers, based at RNAS Yeovilton, flying in formation above the clouds, photographed as part of a Photex. MOD 45146083.jpg|thumb|A formation of four Sea Harrier FA.2s from 801 NAS in 2005]]

In 2000 the [[Sea Harrier]] force was merged with the [[Royal Air Force|RAF's]] [[BAE Harrier II|Harrier GR7]] fleet to form [[Joint Force Harrier]]. The Fleet Air Arm began withdrawing the Sea Harrier from service in 2004 with the disbandment of [[800 Naval Air Squadron|800 NAS]]. [[801 Naval Air Squadron|801 NAS]] disbanded on 28 March 2006 at [[RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron)|RNAS Yeovilton (HMS ''Heron'')]]. 800 and 801 NAS were then combined to form the [[Naval Strike Wing]], flying ex-RAF Harrier GR7 and GR9s. On 1 April 2010, NSW reverted to the identity of 800 Naval Air Squadron. The Harrier GR7 and GR9 retired from service in December 2010 following the [[Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010]].<ref name="rn-nsw">{{cite web|title=Naval Strike Wing |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/fleet-air-arm/naval-air-squadrons/naval-strike-wing/ |work=royalnavy.mod.uk |publisher=[[Royal Navy]] |access-date=25 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524041233/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/fleet-air-arm/naval-air-squadrons/naval-strike-wing/ |archive-date=24 May 2010 }}</ref>

Two new {{sclass|Queen Elizabeth|aircraft carrier|0}} carriers able to operate the [[F-35B]] [[STOVL|short take-off and landing]] variant of the US [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|Lockheed Martin Lightning II]] aircraft were constructed. In the [[Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015]], it was announced that the carriers would enter service "from 2018".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478933/52309_Cm_9161_NSS_SD_Review_web_only.pdf |title=National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 |date=November 2015 |publisher=Government of the United Kingdom |access-date=14 September 2016 |quote=Two new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy. These will enter service from 2018, transforming the Royal Navy’s ability to project our influence overseas. (p. 30) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025094018/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478933/52309_Cm_9161_NSS_SD_Review_web_only.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2016 |url-status=live  }}</ref> The procurement plan is for a force of 138 F-35 aircraft, which are intended to be operated by both the RAF and FAA from a common pool, in the same manner as the Joint Force Harrier.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.janes.com/article/55741/uk-signs-for-more-operational-f-35bs |title=UK signs for more operational F-35Bs |last1=Jennings |first1=Garth |date=4 November 2015 |website=janes.com |publisher=IHS Jane's Defence Weekly |quote=14 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208184406/http://www.janes.com/article/55741/uk-signs-for-more-operational-f-35bs |archive-date=8 December 2015 |url-status=live  }}</ref> With the introduction of the F-35, the Fleet Air Arm will return to the operation of fixed-wing strike aircraft at sea. In 2013, an initial cadre of Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots and aircraft maintenance personnel were assigned to the [[U.S. Marine Corps]]' Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 ([[VMFAT-501]]), part of the [[U.S. Air Force]]'s [[33rd Fighter Wing]] at [[Eglin Air Force Base]], Florida, for training on the F-35B. [[809 Naval Air Squadron]] will be the first FAA unit to operate the F-35B and will be based at [[RAF Marham]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/fleet-air-arm/future-aircraft/809-naval-air-squadron|title=809 NAVAL AIR SQUADRON|website=royalnavy.mod.uk|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=14 September 2016|quote=809 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) has been resurrected as the first Royal Navy formation to fly the UK's Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911095557/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/fleet-air-arm/future-aircraft/809-naval-air-squadron|archive-date=11 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Helicopters====
[[Helicopter]]s also became important combat platforms since the Second World War. Initially used in the [[search and rescue]] role, they were later developed for [[anti-submarine warfare]] and [[Military transport aircraft#Transport helicopters|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.<ref>Darling, p. 224</ref> Originally operated only from carriers, the development of the [[Westland Wasp]] in the 1960s allowed helicopters to operate on all ships of [[frigate]] size or larger. Wasps, [[Westland Sea King|Sea Kings]] and [[Westland Wessex|Wessex]] helicopters all played an active part in the 1982 Falklands War, while [[Westland Lynx|Lynx]] helicopters played an attack role against Iraqi patrol boats in the 1991 [[Gulf War]] and [[Westland Sea King#Troop transport|Commando Sea King HC4s]] as well as the Lynx HMA Mk 8 from HMS ''Argyll'', assisted in suppressing rebel forces in the [[British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War|British intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War]] in 2000.

====Museums====
The Fleet Air Arm has a [[Fleet Air Arm Museum|museum]] near RNAS Yeovilton (HMS ''Heron'') in [[Somerset]], England, at which many of the great historical aircraft flown by the Service are on display, along with aircraft from other sources. There is also a Fleet Air Arm museum inside the [[Museum of Transport & Technology]] in [[Auckland]], New Zealand. On display there is a full-size replica [[Fairey Swordfish]], along with historic items and memorabilia.