The U.K.’s newest and largest naval craft, the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, arrived at its homeport of Portsmouth Wednesday during a ceremony.
The carrier sailed to Portsmouth after completing training and sea trials in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland in June (Defense Daily, June 27). The Queen Elizabeth was under construction in Rosyth since 2014.
The trials had hundreds of sailors and contractors testing the ship’s engines, propulsion systems, ability to produce fresh water, cope with sewage, feed the crew, and supply electricity.
As the ship made it to port, thousands of people looked from around the harbor before British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke.
May thanked the contractors and first set of sailors aboard the ship for their work during the sea trials. She also highlighted that over 10,000 people and six shipyards in the country contributed to its construction: Glasgow, Devon, Tyneside, Merseyside, Portsmouth, and Fife.
“We are determined to build on the success of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers with a National Shipbuilding Strategy to open up new opportunities for our great British shipyards in the future,” May said in her statement.
She added the ship sends a signal that the U.K. is determined “to remain a fully engaged global power” and that her government will increase defense spending every year until they reach the NATO target of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense.
“Our carrier programme is an example of what that spending can deliver. As highly versatile and potent assets, they will be able to meet the widest range of challenges around the world.”
Michael Fallon, Secretary of State for Defence added, “She is Britain’s statement to the world: a demonstration of British military power and our commitment to a bigger global role.”
The carrier is set to have a range of 10,000 nautical miles, 500 nautical miles per day, and a top speed of up to 25 knots. It has a 65,000-ton displacement, is 280 meters long, and 90 meters wide. The Queen Elizabeth class ships will have a crew of 700, with up to 1,600 when a full complement of F-35Bs and four Crowsnest helicopters are aboard.
It is planned to host U.S.-built F-35s starting in 2021. Each carrier of this class can carry up to 40 aircraft, both rotary and fixed wing.
The U.K. Defence Ministry said it has 11 F-35s and 120 personnel currently training in the U.S. and that is set to rise to 14 jets by the end of the year. Trial flights from the Queen Elizabeth are planned to begin in 2018.
It was earlier predicted that the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers will routinely operate with 12 F-35s and is will be capable of carrying up to 32 F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variants (Defense Daily, Sept. 7, 2016).
The Queen Elizabeth was built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a team of Britain’s BAE Systems, France’s Thales, Babcock, and the MoD.
The new carrier is being berthed at the newly-upgraded and named Princess Royal Jetty at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth. The base will be home to both the Elizabeth and the second carrier in the class, HMS Prince of Wales.
The Prince of Wales will be officially named at a ceremony at Rosyth in September.