Queen Elizabeth inspects a new British aircraft carrier named after her
The Queen of Britain aboard the carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth.
Reuters
The British Queen, Queen Elizabeth, inspected the new British aircraft carrier named after her, yesterday, before the ship led a convoy of Royal Navy ships to Asian waters, on its first operational flight.
The queen, 95, boarded the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth, seven years after announcing the choice of that name for the aircraft carrier with her husband, Prince Philip, who died last month.
The 65,000-ton ship will carry eight British F-35B fighters and 10 American F-35s, in addition to 250 US Marines, with a crew of 1,700.
The aircraft carrier will lead the convoy, along with two destroyers, two frigates, a submarine and two support ships, on its 26,000 nautical mile journey over 28 weeks, and the group will be joined by an American destroyer and a frigate from the Dutch Navy.
The group will sail in the South China Sea, parts of which China and Southeast Asian countries dispute over sovereignty, on their way to the Philippine Sea, and ships will also stop in India and Singapore.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the deployment would help highlight British soft power, such as belief in democracy and the rule of law.
• The aircraft carrier, carrying eight British F-35B fighters and 10 American F-35s, in addition to 250 US Marines, with a crew of 1,700 personnel.
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