Temporary airspace restrictions have been introduced over the Firth of Forth ahead of the departure of HMS Queen Elizabeth from Rosyth.
A Restricted Area (Temporary) will be in force between 19 and 24 April 2026 in the vicinity of North Queensferry, covering operations linked to a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. The measures, introduced under Article 239 of the Air Navigation Order 2016, are intended to support national defence and security during the vessel’s movement.
Under the restrictions, unmanned aircraft are prohibited from flying below 1,400 feet above mean sea level within a defined area over the Firth of Forth between 0100 on 19 April and 2300 on 24 April. The regulations explicitly do not apply to manned aircraft.
HMS Queen Elizabeth has been in Rosyth since entering a planned dry dock and maintenance period in August 2025. The work forms part of the carrier’s routine lifecycle and includes inspections, upgrades and certification activities that require the vessel to be out of the water.
HMS Queen Elizabeth
HMS Queen Elizabeth is the lead ship of the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and one of the largest warships ever built for the UK. Ordered in 2008 and constructed at Rosyth, the vessel was commissioned in December 2017 and entered operational service in 2020. With a full load displacement of around 80,600 tonnes and a length of 284 metres, the carrier is designed to project air power globally and support a wide range of maritime operations.
The ship is built around an integrated electric propulsion system and can carry a tailored air wing centred on F-35B Lightning II aircraft alongside helicopters including Merlin, Wildcat and Apache. It is equipped with systems such as the S1850M long-range radar and Artisan 3D radar, and is defended by Phalanx close-in weapon systems and 30mm guns. The carrier can accommodate around 1,600 personnel and is designed to operate as the centrepiece of a UK Carrier Strike Group.
Is she armed with 30mm guns? if so how many?
Didn’t the government say that they won’t be fitting the 30mm to the carriers?
Yes they did, for some bizarre reasons know only to the tea lady at the MOD.
So it was reported, so why does say they already have them?. Who is right and who is wrong? And which report was wrong?.
Should have had Cats and Traps and Atomic warp drive and Sea Typhoons.
There, that about covers It.
(again).
You missed out Nuclear powered!
I upgraded It with “Atomic Warp Drive” 😁
Booo !!!!! the UK sucks 😂
When she returns to Pompey those stealth Frigates that George wrote about on April 1st will have to be moved up to F Fountain Lake Jetty or have they ?.
With cats and traps, the RN could operate a proper carrier air wing. In terms of range and maneuverability, the B variant is the least capable of the three. Plus, it’s landing weight is limited to its vertical thrust, which means it may have to dump fuel and weapons in order to land on the carrier. Operating the Hawkeye AEW would give you the naval eyes in the sky.
Correction: Operating the Hawkeye AEW aircraft would give you the best naval eyes in the sky.
Genius.
In all the years since these ships were first conceived, no-one has ever come up with this.
😁
You get what you pay for.
You don’t know what a proper carrier air wing is judging by that summary.
“Proper carrier air wing” 😂
🤣
better then no carriers , even with compromises . we just need the aircraft to fill them up , or it is a waist .
Or may I respectfully venture….a waste.
I think I read somewhere recently that we have 47.
How many do you want?
Well 150 was the original plan. That got downgraded to 138 and now we only have 47 after losing one overboard. Like the number of combat ready surface ships available it’s all become a joke. My grandfather who fought and died whilst serving on board the Roysl Navy in WW2 would be disgusted by what they have done to our once proud and mighty navy.
If you want to consistently field 24 fast jets on the carrier at short notice, you’d need 72, according to the rule or 3. With 47, you can just about manage 16.
🤦🏻♂️
The carriers seem to generate the most opposing views and when we had 3 carriers would this have been true, obviously no internet then. Wondering whether we would venture further afield into an active war zone without long range land based AEW presently. Agree on board AEW is best.
I am more inclined to think that drone technology, accelerating as it is, that cats and traps and will soon be archaic. We invented the angled deck… and we invented the ski slope. And now we’ve invented the cat-and-trapless carrier. Let’s fight today’s and tomorrow’s wars, (if we have to fight at all) not past ones. So many posts on here on various subjects show many folk who are firmly welded to the mid-20th Century.
Mid 19th Century in some cases…
Good to see.
There is nothing wrong with our carriers themselves, it is the lack of weapon types on their primary weapon and limited capability of rotary ASCS.
Hopefully both areas will improve soon.