Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has arrived in Scotland for a logistics stop.

The 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier is returning to Glenmallan on the Clyde in Scotland for a routine logistics visit.

This will be the third the vessel has visited the Northern Ammunition Jetty at Glen Mallan near Faslane since it was upgraded.

According to a news release on the upgrade work:

“We awarded a £67m contract to VolkerStevin in 2019. Alongside them, we worked with managing agent Jacobs, which provided engineering and professional services, as well as designer Arch Henderson. In completing this major project, £20m was spent with local suppliers and small and medium enterprises in Scotland. The jetty was last upgraded in the 1970s and had reached the end of its economic life. The upgrade work has not only extended the life of the jetty by an estimated fifty years, but has also made the site accessible for the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

In fact, HMS Queen Elizabeth visited part way through the work, back in March 2021, in preparation for her first operational deployment. This was not originally planned but became necessary when the scale of the ship’s deployment increased, presenting the team with a challenge to make the jetty operational in time for her arrival. Everyone involved, from DIO, VolkerStevin, Jacobs and the various subcontractors worked closely together to enable HMS Queen Elizabeth to berth at the unfinished jetty, which she did successfully.”

This summer the vessel will be deployed to the Mediterranean in a show of naval strength. The ship recently tweeted, “It’s time to put the ship and crew through their paces as we train for our next deployment!”

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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102 COMMENTS

  1. Funny isn’t it? There are still ‘defence experts’ saying she just sits in Portsmouth looking forlorn!

      • Hmm…been perusing Navy Lookout current articles again? 😁 Difficult to believe an extended maintenance period could not resolve a compressor system issue, but if USN MSC T-AKE vessel is part of the CSG, answer will be glaringly obvious. Admiralty probably very relieved successor build underway. 😉

        • Agree w/ your assessment; the rationale presented by Navy Lookout does not hold water (sorry, couldn’t resist that). Perhaps more manning issue?

    • I see the usual suspects haven’t shown up yet so allow me to comment for them… something something “nO pLAnEs!” mumble mumble “exPenSiVE WhiTE ElePHanT!” something something “it’S alWAYs BroKEn!” mumble mumble “mY BrAiN huRtS”

    • Dauntless looked fine to me when I observed her in Pompey dockyard alongside Duncan and getting ready for her hurricane season and drug detection duties in the Caribbean.
      Bon voyage

  3. Maybe someone should invite the leader of the SNP for a visit whilst she is in the area. I believe she has some form of Armour onboard he could inspect.
    He could then report back to his colleagues.

    Just Saying 🤭

    • Any idea how long HMS QE will be there
      On our way south on 31st & would take a fiversion via Loch Long if there was a chance she might still be at the jetty.

      • Good Morning John. Scotland is our family’s ancestral home of which we are very proud but I am not a fan of the SNP and particularly the strange antics of their new leader. Scotland and the SNP are not the same.

          • Morning John. Alex Salmond is/was a highly capable politician and seems would be a nice guy to have a beer with. He visited SA some years back but I did not get a chance to hear him speak. I emphasize that I am a died in the wool Unionist but doesn’t mean we have to be enemies. My best friend at University in Durban in the 1960’s was a Scot Nat from Dundee who used to sing a Nat(and Republican) version of the Sash 🙂 but it never interfered with our friendship. Alba is OK-I like them because they split the Nationalist Vote :):)
            Cheers from Durban

          • 😂Hi Andy. True Story-I had a friend here in SA who was in charge of the old Natal Parks Board Inland fisheries section. His name was Tom Pike😆

        • I think its noticeable that the RN is dispersing its assets and is wary of Putin making another much bigger mistake. Another reason why QE class needs its own Seaceptor onboard system.

      • And yet there are more arms dumps in England.
        And I don’t see any anti Scottish comments, just anti SNP comments.
        What is your position?

        • Proud to be Scots is not SNP, which is a departure from everything where Scotland is most comfortable and productive.

    • IMO it is a statement of global intent. Little use for the defence of these islands, but you can’t send a task group to the other end of the globe without air cover. Conversely you can’t sent a carrier without surface group cover, mutual dependence. 🌂

    • Very likely as a show of strength. As well as being the most likely way QEC would be used as part of a multinational CSG.

    • The “Caspian Report” on the tube gave a decent analysis last week on the Arctic and the rush to militarise the area. What amazed me was the shortening of freight shipping distance from China using that route. Worth a view, and makes sense to prioritise European interests in that area. He also alluded to the oil and mineral reserves, as yet, untapped.

  8. Slightly off-topic but very interesting news.

    Imperial College working with Royal Navy on a groundbreaking system to replace GPS on ships
    Academics have been using a ship to explore a quantum accelerometer, the UK’s first commercially viable quantum navigation system

    “According to Imperial College London, accelerometers work by measuring how an object’s speed changes over time. It uses this velocity and the object’s starting point to calculate the new position.

    The concept was developed in a laboratory and now for the first time has been tested on water. In order to get the precision for long periods of time, the device measures the properties of supercool atoms.
    The results, according to Cmdr. Michael Hutchinson, captain of the vessel, are good.

    “This device is a self-contained precision navigation instrument and has never been to sea on a naval ship before,” he said.

    “This is its first encounter in water, which is an inhospitable environment due to weather and salt water. However, it’s working well and displaying good results.”

    LINK

    • That is very very interesting. If viable would remove the need for GPS and make military assets and I guess targeting systems unjammable.

    • The use of accelerometers and cumulative motion calculations to measure location has been around for a very long time and often act as a short term protection for gps. Inertial navigation systems generally rely on gyro’s to keep the accelerometers alligned. As the gyro’s process over time, they gradually induce an error that needs a periodic reset from gps.

      As i understand it, the revolution, barely mentioned or explained, is the use of quantum measurements to remove the need for, or error in the gyros giving a much longer period of accuracy….

      • Thank you for the detailed explanation Dave G, could this also be used to direct munitions (Tomahawk) to its intended target?

        • In principle… not knowing the details, it depends on size weight and accuracy. According to wiki, tlam already has an inertial system and gps independent means to correct so prob doesnt need it:

          “ Digital Scene Matching Area Correlation. A digitized image of an area is mapped and then inserted into a TLAM mission. During the flight the missile will verify that the images that it has stored correlates with the image it sees below itself. Based on comparison results the missile’s inertial navigation system is updated and the missile corrects its course.”

          Having an accurate start point to work from is important for an inu so maybe more critical for the launching platform

        • It’s also how SMs navigate underwater using SINS. Every now and again popping upto PD to get a GPS fix to update SINS position.

          • Read a recent article that stated MoD has sponsored development of a prototype quantum compass. Predict maturation of design as either a Pillar 1 or 2 programme w/in AUKUS. Eventually will reduce/eliminate GPS dependency for SM navigation. Believe it was clever lads from Oxbridge or U. of London. ..🤔

    • More than 20 years ago a friend of mine was captain of BA 747 flights from Heathrow to New York and reported that their Inertial Navigation System was usually just 4 metres out by the time they got to NYC. I believe that was based on mechanical gyroscopes. Crossing the Atlantic to achieve that accuracy was impressive though passenger aircraft are not subject to military flight envelope nor ballistic missile behaviour.
      Now that Inertial Measurement Units are fully digital (Lazer interferometry) you would expect that INS is cheap and available. Especially since mass tech has production in the billions of units (Smartphone). Some smart coding to detect and eliminate GNSS jamming should make combined INS & GNSS navigation a solved problem, especially with WAAS correction. Presumably 2m RMS would still be precision fire both Naval and Land….

      • Being 4 meters out over 3,461.34 miles is quite impressive, I wonder how much more accurate this system will be.

  9. Home port is Portsmouth, yet our carriers have to go to Scotland for ammunition? Not very efficient or cost-effective, surely. Can anyone explain that to me?

    • Well as our prime NATO task is in the Northern Atlantic, GIUK Gap and the Artic you don’t want to be going 600 extra miles to rearm or refuel.
      Like the rest of the U.K heavy depots you need decent deep water access to the Atlantic, remote from any population centres and preferably under a few hundred feet of Granite.
      Hence Coulport, Faslaine, Lock Malin for Subs, Nucs, Missiles and Munitions and Loch Ewe, Loch Striven and Cambeltown and Altbea for fuel.

      • I assumed that HMS QE had gone from Portsmouth to the Clyde to get ammunition, which suggested that she could not ‘bomb up’ in Pompey, but is that because there is no ammunition depot in Pompey for civilian safety reasons?

        Maybe I got it wrong.

        Very useful to have ammunition bunkers and fuel stocks at each end of the country, I would have thought.

        • Bomb Stock ( North ) is Glen Douglas. Bomb Stock ( South ) I believe is Kineton.

          Yes, the DM site at Gosport serving HMNB Portsmouth does not deal with that sort of ammunition, but has IWCs for more complex weapons ( missiles ), CIWS, and so on.

          • Thanks Daniele.
            Also of interest perhaps is that the army has a munitions depot in Germany at Wulfen, part of ‘British Army Germany’.

          • That’s right mate, it does.
            One of the retained sites along with Ayrshire Barracks and the CHE vehicle storage area.

            The smaller DM compounds I referred to are at Larkhill, Tidworth ( for SPTA ), Catterick, within SENTA, at its eastern end, and another that I forget! Used for army training and outstations of Kineton.

            There was another at Puckeridge Barracks west of Aldershot but that is now I think accom for a MWDU. And Dean Hill near Salisbury, which closed in the 90s.

            Regards ammunition/weapon storage…

            FI, Gib, and the Cyprus SBAs also have quite large sites, as do many RAF Stations, especially Wittering, Honington, Marham, previous 2 also involved in nuke storage including overnight stops for convoys. Ouston has its own facility for this.

            One of the biggest in the UK is an MoD installation but supports USVF, “RAF Welford” just off the M4 with its own direct access off the motorway. Its Red lined “works” signs are cause of much gossip online. 🙄

            Gosport , Coulport, Ernsettle all RN Centric, Kineton primarily supports Army/RAF I believe, Longtown I think mostly army ordnance, Glen Douglas all 3 services, especially RAF Bombs, and Beith has complex weapons so again supports all three. Crombie unsure at the moment.
            Some of these are linked to the railway, which we discussed before re Ludgershall, so strategic assets not to be tampered with!!

      • Each HMNB I’m the South already has a DM ( Defence Munitions ) facility.
        DM Ernsettle ( now DM Plymouth ) for Devonport and DM Gosport for Portsmouth.
        Ernsettle is under a hill, and has railway access.
        They are joined by Glen Douglas, Beith, Crombie in Scotland and Kineton, Longtown ( Eastriggs ) in northern England.
        Beneath are several DM Compounds at a few garrisons.
        I do not include Coulport as that is rather different.
        The kind of munitions that QEC is collecting are in 2 places, Kineton, or Glen Douglas. Kineton is land locked, and Douglas is where it is as ABC Rodney explained.

        • Hi Daniel
          Dont comment much on here as i normally get told off becouse i moan a lot as all i hear is Pompy this and Pompy that and not a lot about my first place of work well second as my first place was RNAD (now DM) Ernesettle
          Just thought i would mention it as you did

          • Hi Barry.

            You’re fine with me mate. I remember, you’ve posted often regards Devonport and its supposed lack of attention. Ignore the tellings off, it is dear to you so why not.

      • As Daniele mentions below there are other smaller depots at the southern Naval bases. But when it comes to a QE carrier we are talking a different level of magnitude and that amount of HE requires special care. DM Glen Douglas is huge, it was at one point the NATO forward munitions depot for the North Atlantic and Artic for RN, US and NL ships and it is very well protected.
        It has a purpose built road system down to the Glen Mallan Jetty and is far away from anywhere so if anything goes wrong 🤞🏻civilians don’t get hurt.
        To load a QE a new specially built jetty had to be built which cost £67million and is the only one that can accommodate a QE in U.K.

        Interestingly the requirements for loading a QE is very similar to that of our CASD. Remote, deep water, suitable geology for deep bunkers and easy access to the North Atlantic. Which is why one is at Glen Mallon and the other at Coulport.
        I seem to remember a report on possible sites for relocating CASD from Scotland pre 2014 referendum,
        The options identified were Falmouth, Milford Haven or bug out to the US.

        Plymouth is too shallow, so it would have to be at Pompey. You can’t easily use DM Gosport as it is inland and on the wrong side of the Harbour. The only way to do it would be to truck each load 21 miles right round Portsmouth Harbour and use the QE dock in Portsmouth.
        So realistically you would need a brand new facility somewhere else which is remote, good geology and deep water 24/7/365, best bet would be east of Falmouth.

        And I suspect the locals, NIMBY’s and press would go Ape wherever in the south you put it.

        So in these days of restricted budgets would you honestly spend a vast amount of money to build a huge underground facility, another jetty plus all the annual upkeep costs to duplicate an existing facility ? If I were to guess you’d be looking at £1 billion plus to build it and it will not be at either of the existing bases either.

  10. British Aircraft Carrier arrives in Scotland… to pick up some more cannibalised spare parts from the HMS POW spare parts shop?

      • I disagree to be honest. All this time laid up tied to a jetty in Scotland. Whatever repair work needed to take place, it’s all money down the drain.

      • Hi Peter
        If the prop shaft/s were misaligned, I doubt if the ship would have got to sea, conducted sea trials (some of which are extreme) and then manage to sail to Portsmouth. Misaligned shafts of that size, would have caused pretty much catastrophic failures during the sea trials.

        Whoever then (allegedly) said the ship was seaworthy, and in all aspects ready to depart to the US, to my mind is guilty of gross misconduct, and possibly open to charge of negligence, and criminal damage.

        • Breaking defense news said the Government report found 0.8 -1 mm alignment error , this was known about but build pushed on for political reasons. Due to the BAE, Babcock and Thales aircraft carrier alliance partnership being defunct it complicates legal proceedings in liability for the repair bill!

    • Your glass is certainly half empty! These ships are incredibly complex and you cannot expect them to not have teething problems or to never require maintenance.
      Unlike civvy stuff, like cars and aircraft, you cannot build a prototype, fix it, build a pre-production version, fix it, then build production platforms. It is amazing so little has gone wrong with the carriers. The US who, unlike us, have had continuous experience at building carriers had huge problems with USS Gerald R Ford.

      • Well they did decide to introduce new versions of just about everything except a hull, Flat angled deck and propellers. All at one go they went for new Cats, Traps, lifts, Radars, Reactors, Electrical distribution system, internal comms, manning levels etc etc.
        So if she was a civilian car she is a pre production prototype and so the next 2 take a downgrade due to the cost

        • Yep…and our experience was that no-one in the UK had designed a carrier since the late 60s or built one since the 1970s – and that had been a small, but conventional design. QE-class was far more radical. So no surprise that a few teething troubles crept in.

      • Have known individuals in a private plane partnership and those in a yacht partnership. To a man, they claim the happiest days are the purchase date and the sale date, and that you don”t really have to touch a plane or boat, you can simply sit and observe them breakdown. Now, scale that experience to leading edge military aircraft and warships. 🤔😳😉

        .

  13. I wonder now prior to CSG 5025 whether we will see any enhancements to the carrier’s defensive systems? Still just the three Phalanx’s. I asked this before, are there any hard-soft kill decoys on board as on other RN ships? Any plans for additional RWS’, 40mm, or Dragonfire? The Taiwanese have just designed a 24 RAM style launcher which if with ER Martlet/HVM and paired with Phalanx’s could be fabulous.

    • *Oryx launcher. Looks like a 5*4=20.
      And all those decades ago the UK had developed the Sea Streak system. What happened with that? What a could have been. Just look at the success of the RAM launcher system worldwide. Need to back UK industry more.

  14. Stop defense cuts and this would not happen,, the uk needs to have a deterrent just incase there is a threat to us.

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