HMS Queen Elizabeth transits Suez Canal
UK Strike Group heads east after completing first phase of its deployment in the Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and the Black Sea.
After completing the first phase of its deployment, the Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth and her escorts and auxiliaries have passed through the Suez Canal en route to the Far East.
The strike group is on a seven-and-a-half month deployment to promote solidarity and cooperation with the UK’s NATO partners and to show the Union Jack globally.
In the first phase of the group’s deployment, the nine ships visited eleven different European countries and hosted dignitaries and events designed to support British trade and exports.
“The Carrier Strike Group’s period working with our NATO partners in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Black Seas offers unmistakable proof that the United Kingdom’s most important overseas defence commitment remains the security of the Euro-Atlantic region,” said Commodore Steve Moorhouse, Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group.
“Our program of defence engagement involved a huge amount of work in support of British Embassies and High Commissions, but from Alicante to Alexandria and Bar to Batumi, the message was the same: Britain’s friends and allies are delighted to see the Royal Navy back in town.”
