HMS Queen Elizabeth due to leave Portsmouth tomorrow ahead of US exercise
HMS Queen Elizabeth is set to leave Portsmouth tomorrow ahead of her exercise in the US.
Shipping movements for Portsmouth Harbour tomorrow indicate the Royal Navy carrier is due to depart from the naval base at 1.05pm, and will go past Southsea en route to the NAB tower.
In June it was announced the £3.1 billion warship would be deployed to the US this summer for vital deck and warfare trials with UK F-35 jets from 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron based in the USA and 617 Squadron based at RAF Marham.
HMS Queen Elizabeth also made a transatlantic journey last year, which involved F-35 jets landing on her decks for the first time.
She had set sail for more sea trials last month but was forced to return to Portsmouth, following a stop in Plymouth, after a ’mechanical issue’ was discovered which left her ‘without propulsion’ for days.
HMS Queen Elizabeth remains set to be deployed on global operations in 2021, and her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales is due to sail into Portsmouth for the first time later this year.