These were joined by unmanned systems and target drones, including the jet-powered, parachute-recovered Banshee. Marine Corps' VMFA-211 Squadron-along with 4 Wildcat maritime attack helicopters from 815 Naval Air Squadron, 7 Merlin Mk2 anti-submarine and airborne early warning helicopters from 820 Naval Air Squadron, and 3 Merlin Mk4s from 845 Naval Air Squadron (part of the Commando Helicopter Force, which supports the Royal Marines). This included 18 F-35B Lightning II fighters-8 from the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron, 10 from the U.S. Between them, they carried 3,700 personnel, including Royal Marines from 42 Commando, as they headed on a 28-week deployment that would take them to 40 countries and the waters of the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Philippine Sea, and South China Sea.Īs hailed by the Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace MP, this was the “largest concentration of maritime and air power to leave the United Kingdom in a generation.” For the next six months, the flight deck of the £3.2 billion (37 billion NOK) carrier would be home to a small menagerie of aircraft from a mix of squadrons, services, and nations.
On, the United Kingdom's Carrier Strike Group (CSG) sailed from Portsmouth and embarked on its maiden operational deployment (CSG 21) led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, which at 65,000 tonnes and 280 metres in length, is the largest warship ever built for the Royal Navy (RN).Įscorting this new flagship were two Type 45 air warfare destroyers, two Type 23 frigates, the American destroyer USS The Sullivans, the Dutch ship HNLMS Evertsen, two Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships and an Astute-class nuclear attack submarine.
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