HMS Queen Elizabeth returns to Portsmouth as Royal Navy carrier completes sea trials ahead of maintenance
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The Royal Navy aircraft carrier has completed her first series of tests after returning to sea
A Royal Navy aircraft carrier has returned home to Portsmouth after completing her first set of major trials since returning to sea.
HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed past The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth this morning (May 28). She originally left HMNB Portsmouth on May 8, with families sending their best wishes to loved ones on board while waving flags along the Hotwalls.
It was the first major series of drills for the 65,000 tonne warship for several months. She recently completed a two-part maintenance period, the first of which in Portsmouth last year involved giving her “significant” upgrades to her propulsion systems and other components.
Mechanical faults were found during routine machinery trials and the warship was taken to the Rosyth dry dock in Scotland for these to be fixed. From September 2025 to April this year, the Queen Elizabeth-class carrier was on the side-lines. She came back to her home port on April 27.
The goal of the trials was to bring the ship’s company up to speed. An update from the carrier’s social media account said personnel also got chance to take part in inter-department sport during breaks from propulsion trials. This included tug of war and field gun exercises.
After being part of Nato’s Allied Response Force (Maritime) and being involved in those drills, the £3.2bn carrier will proceed into another planned maintenance period in June. Her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, has been busy taking up the helm of the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG).
Currently involved in Operation Firecrest, British personnel are conducting various large-scale military exercises in the North Atlantic and High North. These will take place alongside Nato allies and members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). They recently had to react to the presence of a Russian spy ship loitering nearby during Exercise Dynamic Mongoose.