The Royal Navy's Flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, Has Wrapped Up Its Maiden Deployment

HMS Queen Elizabeth returns to Portsmouth after its maiden operational deployment, December 9, 2021.British Royal Navy/PO Jenkins  

Business Insider: The UK's new aircraft carrier wrapped up its maiden deployment with 2 more milestones — one good and one bad 

* The Royal Navy's new flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, returned from its maiden deployment this month. 

* In its final weeks at sea, the British carrier operated with F-35Bs from a new country but lost one of its own F-35Bs. 

* Even with some mishaps, the carrier's deployment reflected the UK's renewed focus on global military reach. 

On December 9, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth — the Royal Navy's new flagship and the largest, most powerful vessel ever constructed for the service — returned to Portsmouth after its maiden deployment. 

During seven months of operations as Carrier Strike Group 21, HMS Queen Elizabeth and its escorts sailed through the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Western Pacific, working alongside ships from 17 countries and participating in 18 major exercises. 

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WNU Editor: The loss of an F-35 hurt .... Wreck Of A Crashed British F-35 In The Mediterranean Has Been Recovered (December 8, 2021).