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| British Aircraft Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth Sails To The North Pole |
The defense media earlier reported that Typhoon fighter jets would be deployed to the North Pole for what was intended to be a covert escort mission involving a cargo plane. The involvement of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is allegedly related to that.
Admiral Feliz Navidad, a NATO officer, informed that the secret cargo mission was supported by NATO assets. It is not yet known what the "secret cargo plane" was carrying, so the British aircraft carriers had to be on standby for emergency landings if needed.
"Part of previous trials of HMS Queen Elizabeth involved installing STOVL (Sleigh Take Off and Vixen Landing) equipment that would allow aircraft of this type to land and take off from aircraft carriers," the British Royal Navy told the UKDefence Journal.
The undisclosed cargo is likely to be announced nationwide on the morning of December 25 or Christmas Day. “We have received a request for assistance in support of a multinational airlift mission launching from a currently undisclosed location in the Arctic Circle.
In doing so, HMS Queen Elizabeth was diverted to provide emergency provisions and 'back-up' options in case the cargo aircraft involved needed to land and refuel," British Foreign Office spokesman Nicholas Cringle said Friday (23/12/2022).
The carrier's voyage came shortly after it was announced that the UK's Royal Air Force was on high alert this month to track cargo flights from the Arctic region. “Interception is part of what the QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) squad does.
We have to identify and confirm who or what is flying through our airspace or approaching our airspace and because those planes show up at the same time every year, we have a pretty good idea of who will be flying but we don't want to take any chances." said the British Ministry of Defence.