Britain’s largest aircraft carrier sends a message to Putin

Major of the Royal Navy, W.H Her Majesty Queen ElizabethShe arrived in Oslo on Monday for the ship’s first visit to the Norwegian capital. Britain’s largest and most expensive warship ever built has been deployed to lead the Carrier Strike Group in the waters off the North Europe As a show of strength and deterrence for Moscow. The carrier has successfully navigated the Oslo Fjord and will spend the next few days in Norway before resuming operations.

The flagship was escorted by two frigates, a destroyer and a supply ship, and was moored under the historic Akershus Fortress in Oslo. During the visit, it will host various military and political meetings. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr was invited on board Monday evening to visit the flagship.

“This is of great importance NorwayStorr told reporters, adding that the presence of HMS Queen Elizabeth alongside other warships from the NATO was single “An important sign that we are maintaining order” in an area rich in natural resources.

The area is home to nearly 90 facilities oil and gas On the high seas, thousands of kilometers of oil pipelines stretch along the country’s seabed.

“We are a maritime nation, we have a lot of value at sea, we are strategically located and we will ensure stability and order in our region,” Storr said. “We do this in close cooperation with Great Britain and the United States.”

The visit to Norway comes after the carrier participated in Operation Achillean, during which it commanded a group of warships, helicopters and F-35B Lightning fighters. (The fifth-generation multirole fighter was shipped to the carrier earlier this month.) The mission is part of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a military alliance of 10 countries committed to maintaining the security of Northern Europe.

F-35B Lightning IIs from the 617th Squadron conducted fly-bys, while helicopters from the 820th, 845th, 815th, and 825th Naval Air Squadrons flew sorties from a crowded flight deck.

“This latest deployment follows a series of operations and exercises with JEF allies this year for the Royal Navy, including naval patrols in the Baltic SeaThe Royal Navy said in a statement.

Last year, HMS Queen Elizabeth – the largest aircraft carrier in the Royal Navy’s service, at 280 meters long and three times the size of the Ark Royal – completed its maiden voyage, which took nearly seven months, passing through the Suez Canal to the Far East and back. During this long deployment, she was joined by eight other warships and more than 30 aircraft. At 3,700 troops, it was the largest Royal Navy fleet to launch from United kingdom in decades.

The Royal Navy ship also recently returned from the United States, where it hosted a high-level security conference in New York Harbor. The voyage was an unscheduled deployment: HMS Queen Elizabeth stood aboard her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, which had suffered propeller shaft damage near the Isle of Wight as it prepared to cross the Atlantic for the conference.

Like the late Queen Elizabeth II, this warship certainly keeps a very busy schedule.