Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth will set sail from Portsmouth later today (Wednesday) at the end of the first phase of planned maintenance.
The carrier will conduct essential sea trials to test newly-installed navigation and propulsion control systems in UK waters, before sailing to Rosyth in Scotland for a scheduled period in dry dock.
Weather permitting, HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to sail at 16:40.
The ship is currently undergoing the equivalent of a car MOT at the end of a busy 6 years, which included a major global deployment to the Indo-Pacific in 2021 and leading NATO operations across European waters.
The first 9 months of the overhaul has seen HMS Queen Elizabeth undergo engineering work in Portsmouth and the ship’s company conduct essential training to be ready for sea trials – as well as development courses for sailors and officers.
The second phase over the coming months will see the aircraft carrier placed in dry dock at the Babcock Dockyard in Rosyth – providing the opportunity to inspect and improve systems inaccessible when the ship is afloat.
Captain Claire Thompson, HMS Queen Elizabeth’s Commanding Officer, says:
“The departure of HMS Queen Elizabeth from Portsmouth marks the end of one phase of our upkeep period and the beginning of another.
Article continues below this advertisement “We have achieved an enormous amount in 2025, with a significant upgrade to our propulsion system being the most notable item amidst a wide range of engineering projects tackled alongside our partners from industry.
“This engineering work has happened concurrently with a rigorous training programme, to ensure my ship’s company are safe to operate at sea.
“Although HMS Queen Elizabeth is now due a seven-month docking period in Rosyth after a short period of sea trials, my focus remains generating a highly capable team that can take the ship from our docking period and work towards front-line duties.”
Ultimately, the work being carried out now will set the aircraft carrier up for the next phase of the ship’s career with the Royal Navy.
Trials? I can’t see it needing trials. Maybe training is better word but really after several billion spent you really should ready to use it properly.
So you wouldn’t expect a car to be road tested after major repairs/maintenance? What’s different for a ship? Sea trials have always been undertaken following major engineering work. Sorry but she will undergo more sea trials after the dry dock work in Rosyth to ensure the systems operate correctly. It has little to do with training. Your winge seems to aimed at the costs involved.
To earn it’s keep, when the trials are over,
it should be used to protect our borders.
Maybe it should be based in the middle of the
English channel.