Airforces

8 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS

// FEBRUARY 2018 #

United Kingdom

HMS Queen Elizabeth

commissioned and HMS

Prince of Wales afloat

Above: The formation fl ypast for the commissioning of HMS ‘Queen Elizabeth’ at Portsmouth consisted of two Wildcats (one of

which is seen here), plus Merlin HM2, Sea King ASaC7 and Merlin HC3 helicopters. Crown Copyright

HER MAJESTY the Queen

formally commissioned her

namesake aircraft carrier,

HMS Queen Elizabeth,

into the Royal Navy fleet

at Portsmouth Naval Base

on December 7. The

commissioning warrant

was read and the White

Ensign raised, symbolising

the acceptance of the

new aircraft carrier into

Her Majesty’s fleet.

The Queen formally

named the warship in

Rosyth, Scotland in

July 2014. The carrier

sailed into home dock

in Portsmouth for

the first time in mid-

August last year, before

undertaking contractors’

sea trials, which were run

by the Aircraft Carrier

Alliance. The warship left

Portsmouth on October

30 to begin the second

round of contractors’

trials, off the south

coast of England, which

focused on demonstrating

the performance of its

communications, long-

range S1850M radar

and other sensors.

After completing final

build activity and preparing

for helicopter trials in the

new year, HMS Queen

Elizabeth will then head

to the United States for

initial F-35B flight trials off

the US east coast in the

third quarter of the year.

HMS Queen Elizabeth’s

sister ship, HMS Prince

of Wales, was floated and

moved to a fitting-out berth

at Rosyth on December

21. Originally planned
    for 2018, the ‘undocking’
    of the carrier took place
    ahead of schedule.
    In an operation that began

earlier the same week, the

dry dock was filled with

water to allow the ship to

be afloat in the non-tidal

basin for the first time. It

then took two hours and

eight tugs to manoeuvre

the vessel out of the dock.

HMS Prince of Wales is

now berthed at a nearby

jetty, where the Aircraft

Carrier Alliance team will

continue work on the ship.

The vessel’s machinery

should be run up for the

first time in the middle

of this year, followed by

sea trials next year.

Above: HMS ‘Prince of

Wales’ is fl oated out for

the fi rst time at Rosyth on

December 21. BAE Systems

Airbus to

provide

follow-on

support for

Puma HC

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS

and the UK Ministry of

Defence (MoD) have

signed a follow-on

contract to support the

Royal Air Force Puma

HC2 fleet over the

planned service life of the

aircraft. The December

22 contract is worth

an initial £100m. This

covers the first of two

pricing periods that will

see Airbus Helicopters

provide full technical

support and logistics until

March 2022. The contract

can be extended until the

currently planned out-

of-service date of March

2025, subject to the

agreement of both parties.

Airbus Helicopters will

be responsible for repair

and overhaul services in

addition to a parts-by-

the-hour programme,

plus training for all Puma

avionics and mechanical

technicians as well as

engineering managers.

Under a previous

interim arrangement,

the company supported

the aircraft after the

first upgraded Puma

HC2 entered RAF

service in 2012. The

variant recently reached

20,000 flight hours.