In the past Appledore mainly did commercial work, things like ferries and chemical tankers which were sold to customers all over Europe and beyond.
Anyway, HMS
Queen Elizabeth will soon be the centre of a NATO GROUPEX. I am not too sure how many many ASW Merlins she was carry, or jets, or what the exercise will involve, but this is the start of her contributing to national and NATO defence capability, and helping keep the peace by demonstrating capability.