ANNAPOLIS, MD —A brand new British battleship is anchored off Annapolis, Maryland.The HMS Queen Elizabeth was the site of a U.S. and U.K. forum where military, government and private sector players will talk technology.
Adm. Tony Radakin, the First Sea Lord and U.K. Chief of Naval Staff, addressed the second Atlantic Future Forum, saying the new ship is an indication that Great Britain is returning to carrier-based fixed-wing flight operations after a decade-long hiatus. He said it was also a sign of the partnership between the U.K. and the U.S.
“As she has demonstrated already, we can successfully field a combined U.S., U.K. carrier strike group,” Radakin said. “I look forward to this developing further, moving to the point where we are not only talking about interoperability, but we are looking for interchangeability. ”
The ship is concluding its training exercises off the US Atlantic coast as it prepares for its first deployment in 2021.
The aircraft carrier is a big one - more than three football fields long and it can carry up to 70 fighter planes.
“We’ve embraced technology, innovative solutions, management systems that allow us to reduce our manpower burden,” Commodore Steve Moorhouse, Queen Elizabeth’s commanding officer, said.
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