The day HMS
Prince of Wales put to sea (and they day before she came to a halt) I wrote of the WESTLANT22 deployment she was set for, with SRVL trials, UAV experimentation, and being the venue for the Atlantic Future Forum 22. I also wrote of HMS
Queen Elizabeth and her deployment in the NATO area, which coincides with an amphibious deployment. I also noted that:
Traditionally carriers have been very important to NATO, particularly in terms of sea control, despite all the media numpties who insisted that carriers exist to drop bombs on targets on enemy shores and nothing else. This of course has been discussed on this thread, or places like CVF and Carrier Strike - ARRSE, and Late 1970s US Congress Report - The US Sea Control Mission (carriers needed in the Atlantic for Air Defence and ASW - both then and today) - ARRSE. This last thread has a high signal to noise ratio and features insights from a former US Navy carrier flyer, as well as links to multiple official documents, including the declassified 1980s maritime strategy papers, and academic papers, and explains things in the terms of the perspectives of the Cold War front line and the implications of Geography, Physics, and Maths.
Sea control remains the primary naval mission, and one that the carrier provides greater defensive range as well as an outer layer of defence.
Today: Britain’s flagship heads for the USA ahead of autumn on European operations - Royal Navy
Britain’s flagship leaves Portsmouth today bound for the United States – and ahead of an autumn on operations and exercises in European waters.
In the coming months, HMS Queen Elizabeth
will be at the heart of a powerful task group made up of thousands of sailors, up to ten ships, F-35B Lightning jets, helicopter squadrons and Royal Marines Commandos which will operate across Europe this autumn.
But the aircraft carrier will first deploy to the east coast of the United States to undertake parts of HMS Prince of Wales
’ deployment – as her sister ship undergoes repairs.
HMS Queen Elizabeth’
s Commanding Officer, Captain Ian Feasey, said: “After a period of maintenance it is fantastic for the Fleet Flagship to be underway again to conduct operational activity with allies and partners.”
The Royal Navy task force will work closely with allies and partners across Europe – from the Baltic all the way south to the Balkans and Black Sea region – over the coming months.
The operations are part of galvanised NATO efforts in the face of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine to safeguard security, stability and prosperity across Europe.