The Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, broke down as she was preparing to cross the Atlantic to participate in exercises off the coast of the United States.
65,000 tons warship It set off from Portsmouth Naval Station in Hampshire on Saturday, but didn’t get far before suffering mechanical problems.
A Royal Navy spokeswoman said: “HMS Prince of Wales remains in the South Coast exercise area while it conducts an investigation into a new mechanical issue.”
The Ministry of Defense has not commented on reports on the matter. navy lookout The website stated that there was “damage to the starboard propeller shaft”.
The carrier’s deck is 280 meters (918 feet) long, the length of three football pitches, and can carry 36 F-35B Lightning jets and four Marlin helicopters.
The ship was scheduled to depart Portsmouth on Friday, but was delayed by 24 hours due to technical problems.
Thousands of fans enjoying the Victorious Music Festival on South Sea Common got the added bonus of watching the giant aircraft carrier go by, but that didn’t go further than the Isle of Wight.
The £3 billion ($3.5 billion) vessel entered service in 2019 but spent 90 days at sea in its first two years after suffering leaks that flooded its engine room and damaged its electrical systems. was less than a day.
HMS Prince of Wales will use the F-35B Lightning jet to conduct joint training exercises with the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and Royal Canadian Navy.
“Pushing the boundaries of unmanned technology”
A Royal Navy spokesman said on Saturday:
“In addition to notable port calls in New York, Halifax, Canada, and the Caribbean, over the next three months, the Prince of Wales Task Group will work closely with U.S. allies to deploy F-35B jets and Royal Navy We operate unmanned systems that define aviation in the future.”
A sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, which was commissioned in 2017, will be deployed to the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas this fall.
Both ships were built at Rosyth Shipyards in Scotland, with various parts built in other parts of the country, which were slotted together like a giant jigsaw puzzle after they were at sea.
PA Media contributed to this report.
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Chris Summers is a UK-based journalist with a wide range of national coverage, with a particular interest in crime, police and law.