This article is by Andrew Chuter for the US based DefenseNews begins with these comments:
LONDON – The largest fleet of Royal Navy warships to deploy internationally since the 1982 Falklands War is heading to the Indo-Pacific region next month as the British government seeks to raise its presence in the Far East.
The maiden deployment of a UK carrier strike group led by the Royal Navy’s new 65,000 tonne HMS Queen Elizabeth has been on the cards for months but this is the first time the MoD has detailed the destinations, ships, aircraft and submarines involved.
Aside from the carrier, the surface fleet comprises Type 45 destroyers, HMS Defender and HMS Diamond; Type 23 anti-submarine frigates, HMS Kent and HMS Richmond; and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s logistics ships Fort Victoria and Tidespring.
An Astute-class nuclear submarine will also be part of the force.
The deployment accounts for a significant portion of a Royal Navy surface fleet which totals only 19 frigates and destroyers.
The US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS The Sullivans and a Dutch frigate, HNLMS Evertse, complete the line-up of surface warships accompanying HMS Queen Elizabeth on the 28 week deployment.
Eight British F-35B Lightning strike aircraft will be deployed on the carrier, with the bigger part of the warship’s fast-jet strike force made up of 10 US Marine Corp F-35s.
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People line the shore to watch as tug boats maneuver the 65,000-tonne British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth into Portsmouth Harbour in Portsmouth, southern England, in August 2017, as it arrives at for the first time in her home port. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
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