Queen Elizabeth Class

HMS Queen Elizabeth prepares for commissioning into the Royal Navy

HMS Queen Elizabeth prepares for commissioning into the Royal Navy

Today HMS Queen Elizabeth formally commissions in the presence of the ship’s sponsor, Her Majesty the Queen. This ceremony marks the transition from being a ship to a warship as she becomes part of the Royal Navy, serving in the fleet potentially for 50 years. The Queen will arrive by royal train at Portsmouth Harbour and be taken by car to the ship which is alongside at Princess Royal Jetty. The ceremony will be held in the vast aircraft hangar with a reception for around 3,700 people including the ship’s company, their families and many invited guests. More

What's next for HMS Queen Elizabeth?

What's next for HMS Queen Elizabeth?

After the impressive entry into Portsmouth on 16th August, HMS Queen Elizabeth is now safely tied up alongside Princess Royal Jetty. She may look close to being the complete article, but there is a lot of work to be done before she can be added to the Royal Navy’s order of battle.More

HMS Queen Elizabeth comes home – in pictures

HMS Queen Elizabeth comes home – in pictures

Today is a day to celebrate a great British achievement. HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived safely in her home port for the first time this morning. She remains several years away from becoming fully operational and there are serious challenges ahead, both for the aircraft carriers and the Navy as a whole, but the engineering achievement of her builders and the hard work of her ship’s company should be recognised. Here are some of the best images from her arrival.
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Getting jets to sea – more squadrons, more pilots please

Getting jets to sea – more squadrons, more pilots please

As HMS Queen Elizabeth undergoes initial sea trials there is considerable discussion about her future embarked air group. Amidst endless media and online gibberish about “aircraft carriers with no aircraft” the UK is in fact, building up its fleet of F-35B Lightnings ready to go to sea. Here John Dunbar considers the concerns about the number of jets that will be available to form the Tailored Air Group, and how their efficiency might be maximised.
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Up close with a US super carrier and the pilots fresh from combat operations

Up close with a US super carrier and the pilots fresh from combat operations

The arrival of the USS George HW Bush in British waters to participate in exercise Saxon Warrior with the Royal Navy provided a useful opportunity to meet US naval aviators who have recently completed combat missions against ISIS in the Middle East. Although they are very different, inevitable comparisons will also be made between the Nimitz class CVN and the Queen Elizabeth class CVF, which deserve to be put in perspective.More

On board USS George HW Bush as she helps the RN back into the aircraft carrier game

On board USS George HW Bush as she helps the RN back into the aircraft carrier game

The USS George HW Bush deployed from the United States in January and has been in the Arabian Gulf and Mediterranean conducting strikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. The Bush is arguably the most potent warship afloat in the world today and her visit to UK waters is very significant for the RN and US relations with Europe. Unlike the 65,000 ton HMS Queen Elizabeth, at 100,000 tons, the Bush is too large to enter Portsmouth and on her arrival in the Solent on 27th July, she anchored in Stokes Bay before hosting media and a VIP evening reception.More

Crowsnest – the strike carrier's eye in the sky

Crowsnest – the strike carrier's eye in the sky

Crowsnest is the name for the project to provide a new airborne early warning system for the RN. Sea King Mk 7 helicopters operated by 849 Naval Air Squadron currently operate in this role and provide what is now called Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC). They are the last Sea Kings remaining active in UK service but are due to go in 2018, by which time this type will have served for nearly 50 years.

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