HMS Queen Elizabeth is Britain's new aircraft carrier and the largest ship in the Royal Navy. It is on a combat mission over the Middle East against ISIS this week. There are fighter jets of the U.S. Marine Corps aboard the British aircraft carrier. It would be the first time since World War II that American warplanes would engage in combat from a non-American warship. The Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom confirms this. The last time such an incident happened was in 1943, during World War II. At that time, the ship was Britain's HMS Victorious in the South Pacific.
Both Britain and America are members of NATO and joint exercises of this nature help to build confidence.
CNN reports that this would be the first combat action for a British aircraft carrier in a decade. The fighter planes would be F-35B jets of the United States. Their total would add up to the largest number of such warplanes ever deployed on a single ship. These fall in the category of stealth aircraft and are capable of landing vertically. In August 2019, British Royal Navy sent two warships to the Persian Gulf and planned to add a nuclear submarine.
The aircraft carrier is on a long tour
Britain's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth with its air wing would Travel through the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean and move on to the Pacific.
The duration of its trip would be seven months during which it would touch countries like Japan and South Korea with a possible transit of the South China Sea. Commodore Steve Moorhouse is Commander of the U.K. strike group. CNN quotes him saying – “we are ready to deliver the hard punch of maritime-based airpower against a shared enemy.” It sends across a message that the carrier strike group of Britain can inject a superior level of combat power into any operation, irrespective of the location.
The flotilla consists of American and Dutch warships. The British Defense Ministry describes this group as "the largest concentration of maritime and air power to leave the UK in a generation."
Russians are curious about Britain’s newest aircraft carrier
According to Sky News, HMS Queen Elizabeth has turned out to be an object of curiosity for Russia.
This is the latest aircraft carrier of Britain, and it would be in operation in the already crowded Mediterranean. It will be the first time a British aircraft carrier would extend support to live military operations in more than two decades. Commodore Steve Moorhouse explained the task ahead. It was to participate in operations directed against the remnants of the Islamic State in Iraq. He added that, over the last decade, the congestion in the eastern Mediterranean had increased. One of the reasons is the presence of Russia in Syria.
It is a fifth-generation aircraft carrier for Britain
Sky News says Commodore Steve Moorhouse describes HMS Queen Elizabeth as a fifth-generation aircraft carrier.
He adds that when such a carrier goes around the world, people want to know more about it. They are curious. The aircraft carrier launched the anti-IS operations on 18 June. At the time, a Russian warship has come quite close to HMS Queen Elizabeth. In his opinion, the eastern Mediterranean used to be quieter, but it has seen increased Russian activity in Syria. Both sides would come across one another. The aircraft carrier is equipped with aircraft for use in Iraq to undertake different tasks. These would include troop support and surveillance. The duration of the stay of HMS Queen Elizabeth and its support ships in the Mediterranean would be two to three weeks.
