Britain’s largest naval warship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, has arrived at Glen Douglas for a 'routine logistics visit'.

HMS Queen Elizabeth on Thursday sailed from Portsmouth for the first time since her global operational deployment to the Indo-Pacific.

It was seen entering Loch Long on Monday, to head up to Glen Mallan.

Scotland's airspace has been restricted since 5am on Monday morning, and will be until 11.59pm on March 20.

 

The Herald:

There will be limited GPS jamming over a larger area, including Largs and Cumbrae.

The 65,000-tonne vessel will then set to begin its return to Portsmouth on March 20, it is expected. 

The restriction applies across a large area of the Firth of Clyde as well as Loch Long, with no aircraft allowed below 6000 feet. 

Captain Ian Feasey Royal Navy, Commanding Officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, said: “We return to sea today as the United Kingdom’s Very High Readiness Strike Carrier for routine operational activity and training.

 

“The hard work of both my ship’s company and our supporting industrial partners has improved the condition of the Fleet Flagship.”

The Herald:

The nation’s flagship has been undergoing essential maintenance since December following the seven-month mission, but is now returning to sea to carry out training exercises.

A statement on the Royal Navy website said: “During this short stint at sea, training will focus on individual, team and whole ship exercises as well as working with commando-carrying Merlin helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton-based 846 Naval Air Squadron.

“The ship will be conducting further exercises and training later in the year as the carrier is kept at very high readiness to deploy anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice.”