News story: Nation’s flagship takes to sea for the first time

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:

This is a historic moment for the UK as our new aircraft carrier takes to sea for the very first time. This floating
fortress is by far the most powerful ship ever built in Britain that will enable us to tackle multiple and changing
threats across the globe.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is an enduring example of British imagination, ingenuity, invention that will help keep us
safe for decades to come. She is built by the best, crewed by the best and will deliver for Britain.

For the next fifty years she will deploy around the world, demonstrating British power and our commitment to
confronting the emerging challenges from a dangerous world. The whole country can be proud of this national
achievement.

Three years after she was officially named by Her Majesty The Queen, the Nation’s future flagship will spend an initial period of around six weeks at sea to test the fundamentals of the ship. The sea trials will monitor speed, manoeuvrability, power and propulsion as well as undertaking weapons trials and additional tests on her levels of readiness.

Following this initial period, HMS Queen Elizabeth will return to Rosyth for further testing and maintenance before heading back to sea for a second stage which aims to test her Mission Systems. She will transit to her home port of Portsmouth Naval Base to be handed over to the Royal Navy later this year.

Admiral Sir Philip Jones First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff said:

This is a hugely significant moment for the Royal Navy, for all our Armed Forces and for our island nation. Once
in service HMS Queen Elizabeth will be the largest aircraft carrier in the world outside the United States, and the
first designed from the outset to operate a fifth generation aircraft.

Already this ship represents the best of the UK’s industrial and engineering expertise, and once in service she
will symbolise our military power and authority in the world for decades to come. There is still much work to do
between now and then, but be in no doubt: a new era of British maritime power is about to begin.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most powerful warship ever constructed for the Royal Navy. The ship will operate with a crew of approximately 700, increasing to the full complement of 1,600 when aircraft are in operation. The Ship’s Company moved on board earlier this month. Working alongside industry colleagues, they have been familiarising themselves with the new ship and the high tech systems on board as well as undergoing training.

Jon Pearson, Ship Delivery Director HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH said:

The QE Class programme demonstrates our pride and commitment to deliver these highly capable aircraft
carriers to the Royal Navy.

The departure of HMS Queen Elizabeth marks an exciting stage in the programme and is the first real
opportunity to put the carrier’s outstanding capability to the test, demonstrating the best of British engineering
and manufacturing.

HMS Queen Elizabeth’s sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales is structurally complete and is currently in the outfitting phase of her programme. The Class will be the centrepiece of Britain’s maritime capability. Each aircraft carrier, coupled with the F-35B Lightning aircraft, will form an integral part of the UK’s Carrier Strike capability. The vessels will transform the UK’s ability to project power around the World, whether independently or working closely with our allies, on operations ranging from high intensity warfighting to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

Images and video files can be downloaded here

The aircraft carriers HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and HMS PRINCE OF WALES are being delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a unique partnering relationship between BAE Systems, Thales UK, Babcock and the Ministry of Defence.

A national endeavour, at its peak the programme directly employed 10,000 people across six build yards. While manufacturing and commissioning is now solely focused in Rosyth, the skilled and diverse workforce is sourced from across the country.

Key Facts

Each carrier weighs 65,000 tonnes
Each carrier is 280 metres in length
Top speed is upwards of 25 knots
The carriers will have a crew complement of c.700, increasing to c.1,600 when a full complement of 36 F-35B aircraft and four Crowsnest helicopters are embarked
The flight deck is 70 metres wide and 280 metres long – enough space for three football pitches
Each carrier keeps 45 days’ worth of food in its stores.
Each carrier is made up of 17 million parts
There are 364,000 metres of pipes inside each of the Ships
51 million hours have been spent designing and building the Queen Elizabeth Class.
The entire Ship’s Company can be served a meal within 90 minutes, 45 minutes when at action station
The QE Class aircraft carriers are the first Royal Navy vessels to have piped oxygen within the medical complex

Key efficiencies include:

Highly mechanised weapons handling system: At the push of a button pallets of munitions can be moved from the magazines deep in the weapons preparation area to the flight deck where they can be loaded onto aircraft.
Storage: The location and design of the storage facilities enable 20 people only half a day to replenish the ship’s stores.
Visual surveillance system: 220 cameras allow monitoring of engine and machinery spaces, external catwalk, aircraft hangars, ship entrances and access to classified areas.
Galley: Technologically advanced equipment and layout of the galley makes maintenance and service more efficient. The entire crew can be served meals in 90 minutes and 45 minute when at action stations.

This marks another decisive blow against this Government’s failing austerity agenda – Abrahams

Debbie Abrahams MP, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the
Prime Minister’s decision to drop her manifesto commitment to ending the
‘triple lock’ on state pensions and cutting the Winter Fuel Payment from ten
million pensioners, said:

“We
welcome that the Prime Minister has been forced to drop these punitive
austerity measures, which would have hit the living standards of millions of
older people.

“This
marks another decisive blow against this Government’s failing austerity agenda,
which was not supported at the general election.

“After
refusing to last week, the Work and Pensions Secretary must now rule out any
future threat to the ‘triple lock’.

“This
Conservative chaos and confusion shows that only Labour can be trusted to guarantee
older people a secure and dignified retirement.”

Let’s call this grubby deal what it is: this is a straightforward political bribe to desperately prop up Theresa May in office – McDonnell

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, commenting on the Tory-DUP deal,
said:

“The price of Theresa May’s political weakness is now becoming clear. The
same Conservative Party which spent the recent election campaign saying there
was no money available for the crisis in the NHS and schools has now found at
least £1 billion to buy a Parliamentary majority, with some reports suggesting
it could be as much as £2bn.

"As this is additional spending beyond that laid out in the Spring Budget,
the Chancellor must now come forward with an explanation as to how it will be
funded. In the context of a forecast increase in Government borrowing this
year, the public must be told whether this additional spend will be funded
through spending cuts elsewhere, additional tax rises or more borrowing.

"There are also important questions to be answered about the
implementation and fiscal consequences of devolving corporation tax, VAT and
Air Passenger Duty, as well as what this could mean for other devolved administrations.

“Let’s call this grubby deal what it is:
this is a straightforward political bribe to desperately prop up Theresa May in
office.

"This Tory-DUP deal is clearly not in the national interest but in May’s
party’s interest to help her cling to power.”

Does this deal help or hinder the process of restoring power-sharing in Northern Ireland? – Smith

Owen
Smith MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, commenting on the release of the
Tory DUP Deal, said:

“Labour
argued at the election just a few weeks ago that public services require extra
funding across the UK, so I welcome the announcement today that additional
funding has now been found for Northern Ireland.

“However,
the deal between the Tories and the DUP throws up all manner of questions, not
least whether more money can now also be found for schools, hospitals, social
care and emergency services in desperate need of cash in England, Scotland and
Wales.

“Most
important of all, does this deal help or hinder the process of restoring
power-sharing in Northern Ireland? Already, it is clear that other parties in
Northern Ireland consider the deal to compromise the ability of the British
Government to be truly impartial as stipulated under the Good Friday Agreement.“

This Tory-DUP deal is clearly not in the national interest – Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, responding to the
Conservative-DUP deal, said:

“Austerity has failed. Cuts to vital public services must
be halted right across the UK, not just in Northern Ireland.

"The Government must immediately answer two questions.
Where is the money for the Tory-DUP deal coming from? And, will all parts of
the UK receive the much needed additional funding that Northern Ireland will
get as part of the deal?

"This Tory-DUP deal is clearly not in the national interest
but in May’s party’s interest to help her cling to power.”