The Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier...HMS Queen Elizabeth Photo: MoD
Her Majesty on her way to the christening of name sake last week Photo: MoD
The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier has been officially named by Her Majesty the Queen at a ceremony in Scotland last week, Vigilance can report.
Hundreds of workers who have helped to build the HMS Queen Elizabeth, along with the ship’s company, joined the Prime Minister, Defence Secretary, military Chiefs and dignitaries to witness Her Majesty christen her namesake with a bottle of whisky.
The ceremony, held at Rosyth dockyard near Edinburgh, marks the completion of the flagship which is the largest ship built for the Royal Navy:
- With a height of 56 meters she is taller than Niagara falls;
- At 280 meters long she has a flight deck the size of 60 tennis courts;
- Four jumbo jets could fit alongside each other on the 70 meter wide deck;
- Her range is 10,000 nautical miles and she carries enough fuel to transport a family car to the moon and back twelve times;
- She is fitted with a long range 3D radar that is capable of tracking more than 1,000 targets at once or can spot a tennis ball travelling at 2,000 miles per hour.
Operating with Lightning II fifth generation stealth Joint Strike Fighter jets, the QE Class will be versatile enough to be used in a full range of military tasks from warfighting to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief. Today’s naming ceremony comes just a week before Lightning II is due to take to the skies in the UK for the first time, marking another step towards the return of carrier strike operations.
The construction of HMS Queen Elizabeth has sustained around 8,000 jobs at more than 100 companies across the UK. Blocks of the ship were manufactured at six yards in Devon, Rosyth, Portsmouth and on the Clyde and Tyne before being assembled in Rosyth.
HMS Queen Elizabeth is the first warship to be christened by Her Majesty in 15 years. To honour the ship’s birthplace in Scotland, a bottle of Islay whisky from the first distillery the Queen visited was smashed against the bow.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said: “HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest ship that the Royal Navy has ever had and is a true demonstration of the UK at its best, with over 10,000 people across the country working together to deliver her.
“This occasion marks a major milestone in regenerating the UK’s aircraft carrier capability, enhancing our ability to project power anywhere in the world.”
Admiral Sir George Zambellas, First Sea Lord, said: “The naming of HMS Queen Elizabeth heralds a new dawn, not only for the Royal Navy but for the delivery of our Nation’s security. Her journey ahead will be global, strategic and one of inter-Service and international partnership. Powerful, versatile and credible, this ship will be at the heart of the UK’s defence capability for the next 50 years, but she already stands testament to the best of British shipbuilding, engineering and technology.
“We are especially proud to welcome Her Majesty The Queen to Rosyth, and are honoured that she has graciously accepted the role of sponsor for our Nation’s future flagship.”
Following today’s naming ceremony the dock will be flooded to enable HMS Queen Elizabeth to float for the first time. Work to prepare the ship for her sea trials in 2017 and flight trials with Lightning II aircraft in 2018 will continue.
Work is already underway on the HMS Queen Elizabeth’s sister ship HMS Prince of Wales which will start to be assembled in Rosyth dockyard later this year
In another development ARMY AND INDUSTRY JOIN TOGETHER IN MILITARY VEHICLE SHOWCASE:
The UK’s biggest military vehicle demonstration, Defence Vehicle Dynamics (DVD), has got underway in Bedfordshire giving visitors an insight into the vast array of equipment used by the British Army.
The event, held at Millbrook near Milton Keynes, brings together the MoD’s equipment and support organisation (DE&S), the Army and industry to showcase the vehicles used by the military. It also looks ahead to the future equipment requirements of Future Force 2020, such as the 40mm cannon for our next generation military vehicles, which has jointly been developed with France and passed its ammunition qualification recently.
A wide range of equipment that has supported the Army on recent combat operations, including the heavily armoured Mastiff and the protected, yet agile, Foxhound are on show at the event. Although procured specifically for Iraq and Afghanistan, the vehicles will have a key role in future operations carried out by the Army.
Visitors also have the chance to see some of the next generation of Army vehicles. The UK’s first fully digitised tracked armoured vehicle, the Scout Specialist prototype, will be on display to demonstrate how technology and capability requirements are evolving to meet the needs of Future Force 2020.
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Philip Dunne MP said: “Operations over the last decade have demanded that our vehicles were created or adapted to suit the challenges our Armed Forces faced in two very different campaigns. As we move to an age of contingency, DVD provides a glimpse as to how we are preparing to meet the needs of Future Force 2020.
“It highlights the innovative technology that industry has developed to enable the Armed Forces to deliver the capability required on operations. World class technology that is made in Britain, and that I want to support British industry to export worldwide.
“I am also delighted that KBR, which already provides 100 sponsored UK Reserves in Afghanistan, has today signed the Corporate Covenant and I hope it encourages other defence contractors to come forward and pledge their support. The Corporate Covenant provides large or small businesses the opportunity formally to support the Armed Forces Community and make a real difference to their lives. Our personnel and their families play an invaluable role in our society and it is only right that they get the recognition they deserve.”
Major General Paul Jaques, Director Land Equipment in the DE&S, said: “The impact of DVD has been significant; relationships with industry have been developed, and innovation in equipment has been driven forwards.
“In this time we have been able to bring capability into service much faster to meet the demands of operations in Afghanistan, and now we want to bring it into core. DVD 2014 is about the future - out to the end of this decade and beyond.”
Director General Logistics, Support and Equipment from Army Headquarters, Major General Richard Semple, said: “DVD has moved from strength to strength over the last 11 years and is now firmly cemented in the calendar as the premier Land Environment equipment and support stakeholder engagement event. As the Army returns to a contingent posture we need to reset the breadth and depth of military capability to cope with the range of potential future commitments.
“This will require continued innovation and flexibility, but above all further strengthening of the close relationship now developed between the MOD and Industry.”
Also, MORE RAF REAPERS TAKE TO THE SKIES:
The RAF’s newest Reaper remotely piloted aircraft have begun operations in Afghanistan.
Vigilance learnt additional Reaper aircraft flew from Kandahar Airfield to gather vital intelligence in support of Afghan, UK and ISAF coalition forces on the ground.
The deployment of five new Reapers means there are now twice as many in Afghanistan operating alongside the Army’s Hermes 450. These aircraft provide real-time, life-saving video to ground commanders, which will continue to be vital to allied efforts to secure internal security in Afghanistan as we draw down allied forces from the country this year.
Reaper can monitor areas of interest for a considerable period of time. This affords the crew time to conduct a detailed assessment of any target, or increase in insurgent activity, the environment in which they are operating and the ability to time any attack to minimise the risk of civilian casualties or unnecessary damage to property.
Although their primary role is gathering intelligence and providing surveillance and reconnaissance support to ground forces, Reaper can also be armed and carry laser-guided bombs and Hellfire missiles when the situation demands it. In over 54,000 hours of operations using Reaper in Afghanistan, only 459 weapons have been fired, which is less than one weapon for every 120 hours flying. Non-armed reconnaissance Unmanned Air Systems have flown almost three times as many operations, flying over 160,000 hours.
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Philip Dunne MP said: “These new aircraft give the RAF enhanced Force Protection capability in support of UK, ISAF and Afghan troops. As we focus on the drawdown of UK forces from Afghanistan, the ability to provide force protection will become increasingly important and Reaper allows us to provide this assurance, remotely and without significant ground presence.”
Air Commodore Al Gillespie, the Air Component Commander and Air Officer Commanding 83 Expeditionary Air Group who is responsible for the command and control of UK Air assets over Afghanistan said: “These aircraft will support UK, ISAF and Afghan forces as they work to protect the people of Afghanistan. They provide vital intelligence and precise strike capability without putting our servicemen and women at risk. As we drawn down from Afghanistan it is precisely this technology that will keep us one step ahead and allow us to combat internal security in the country.”
The aircraft will be operated by XIII Sqn from RAF Waddington and 39 Squadron at Creech AFB in the USA. Ground Control Stations have been operational since April 2013 at the base in Lincolnshire, and the standing up of the second Reaper squadron (XIII) has seen Reaper deliver more flight hours than ever before.