HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Carrier Strike Group have arrived in Scotland ahead of a major multinational exercise.
The Royal Navy say that Exercise Strike Warrior will involve more than 20 warships, three submarines and 150 aircraft from 11 nations and is a final test for the Carrier Strike Group ahead of its first operational deployment to the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Asia Pacific.
“The exercise, which will run for two weeks, will see the task group pitted against warships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 in waters off north-west Scotland to prove it is capable of undertaking high intensity operations against the most demanding adversaries.
The culmination of Strike Warrior will see the Carrier Strike Group certified ready for deployment, at which point operational command will pass from the Royal Navy’s Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Jerry Kyd, to the Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral Sir Ben Key.”
HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier group arriving off Clyde. HMS Richmond, HMS Kent, HMS Defender, RFA Tidespring, USS The Sullivans & HDMS Esbern Snare visible. pic.twitter.com/uvPRe9kxPO
— The Brit (@TheBrit96) May 8, 2021
Commodore Steve Moorhouse, Commander UK Carrier Strike Group, said:
“The new UK Carrier Strike Group is the embodiment of British maritime power, and sits at the heart of a modernised and emboldened Royal Navy. Protected by a ring of advanced destroyers, frigates, helicopters and submarines, and equipped with fifth generation fighters, HMS Queen Elizabeth is able to strike from the sea at a time and place of our choosing; and with our NATO allies at our side, we will be ready to fight and win in the most demanding circumstances. Carrier Strike offers Britain choice and flexibility on the global stage; it reassures our friends and allies and presents a powerful deterrent to would-be adversaries.”
There’s a lot of spoofing going on with ship tracker, so don’t believe all those vessels are what they claim to be.
If Nicola gets her way an Independant Scotland she be charging any further carrier goups to enter Scottish waters , that if she lets them in.
Would possibly be NATO allies so I don’t envisage it’d be a problem.
Hmmm, allies maybe, Can’t see Scotland being admitted to NATO without access to bases for US strategic assets.
If the SNP had attracted two-thirds of the vote in Scotland then I could see Labour and Conservative preparing the ground work in their manifestos for the next election. I think the improvement in the SNP position has been down to the fact that the SNP are focused more on Scottish affairs now – not just independence. Does that mean a shift in interest in independence? I’m not sure and I’m not sure anyone else does either. Indeed I would expect the SNP are a little worried they will get another “No” if they did engineer another referendum. The SNP… Read more »
Hi Mark. Two things-if this election could be seen as a Referendum then the Unionists won it 51 to 49%. Why doesn’t she save a lot of money and a lot of bile by regarding it as such and GIVE OVER thereafter!!!(NI expression)
Second- I will do the excercise but up front I think, if there had been a Unionist front then they would have comfortably won a majority in this election. Check how many seats were gifted to the Nats with their one horse agenda by the split in the Unionist vote.
Regards
Unfortunately I think we are going have to have a further independence ref in Scotland. I think that leaving the EU and the fact there was a majority vote in Scotland to stay has provided a legitimate argument for a second independent referendum. I think it needs to be in a few years hence as we need to both settle down from leaving the EU and the pandemic. 3 to 4 years would seem to be a sensible compromise. Refusing to consider a referendum will just fall into the hands of the the independent argument.
Unfortunately a vote is a certainty, what the uk government needs to do is take control of the when. The SNP are not in a rush for a vote because they know they are currently unlikely or at last not guaranteed to win it, so want to wait until that swings further their way.
Jonathan Here is some perspective from bonnie Scotland. It’s very unlikely there will be an independence referendum in the next five years. Reason: The SNP don’t want one! The leadership just wants to talk about one a lot to keep its bravehearts happy! Brexit blew the SNP model for independence out-the-water! As a result, the party has no ideas on borders, currency – or spending. Instead – the current policy is bluff and bluster! Scotland has never been in the European Union – neither was England. EU membership was held by the United Kingdom. We went in as the UK… Read more »
I won’t underestimate the SNP will for a vote. Going into the last one without a solid plan around the currency cost them dearly but they still forced the vote. They will do it again, but probably I’m a year or two time.
Honestly man your wasting your time trying to educate the London boys ( not to be confused with the London boys who’s 1989 hit “Requiem” was a top 10), it’s astounding how unaware of reality they are on the crack up here. They watch sky news etc and believe the propaganda and spin then come on here spouting off shite.
tired of tellin them stop watching the MSM
🏴🇬🇧
Hello TAFKALPC! 🙂 Hope you are well. Indeed, they need to talk some local lads to get the news on the ground. Sky pisses me off no end but then you get Michael Gove(whose Scots accent revives slightly when he talks from Glasgow) refusing to give a straight answer to a straight question from Sophy Ridge about whether Boris would block another referendum. My answer would have been-I doubt if the Prime minister would ever block another referendum if it was reasonably clear the Scottish people want one. The SNP got 49% of the vote with Unionists on 51%. in… Read more »
Geoff my man , I’m well , Despite Utd getting knocked out of the Scottish cup by Hibs and that wee Mexican rascal Canelo Alvarez beating BJS after me staying up to 0400 to watch it i canny really complain 😫 but I digress Yes you are correct many vote nationalist party who aren’t separatist it’s just the weird politicking up here.
Gove is a peterheid fish man 👍🏻🏴 Good oratory skills enjoy it when they stick it to the Comcast stooges on sky .
keep it fresh bro👍🏻
🇬🇧🏴
😆👏 Thanks for an entertaining post Bro. Onwards and Upwards!
Not me mate. I’m all ears and lapping it up!
Aye yes D man indeed I shouldn’t generalise as much ,apologies your not in that category of soft Pop that the London boys represent 👍🏻😃
🇬🇧🏴
It’s not about not knowing the views mate ( I have a few Scottish friends and some of my close family are crofters). It’s more about tactics to put the SNP to bed. It’s better to give them the rope and agree another ref in say 3 to 4 years ( the SNP would look stupid if they refused after asking ) at this time Brexit will be all bedded in and we should have repaired the economy after the pandemic….given 3-4 years the SNP are not going to win ( I’d lay money). But they now Have a working… Read more »
What I don’t understand is why no one appears to get the SNP to quote actuals, lets take something defence related. Why can they not answer ‘how many ships will you build?’ If they have a idea of how much money they can raise, they will have outline of a defence budget and therefore how many ships they can build. Same goes for currency, tax rates etc.
So we should call Sturgeons bluff and agree to an independence referendum with immediate effect. Eg get one done in 3-4 months?
that would be dangerous as all people can see is Brexit and the pandemic currently.
We should wait 3-4 years surely to allow these massively disruptive events to be fully explored, understood and ideally resolved before a referendum is given the green light.
The pandemic has led to as much governmental debt as WW2 and more civilian deaths in the UK in 1 year than 5 years of warfare in WW2.
So in that logic if I voted pro Brexit. But in last few years labour became my MP and they did things locally I don’t like the look of, can I demand a rerun on Brexit cos circumstances are different? Do you rerun every democratic vote cos things change?
It’s not so much what is right or wrong, personally I think the a break up of the U.K. is bonkers on so many levels. But the reality is the SNP keep winning the most seats in both the Scottish Parliament and Westminster sets. This is what keeps another independent referendum in play. There is no escape from the politics of a majority of seats being held by parties who had a second referendum on their manifesto. Voters may have voted for many reasons but that’s all unfortunately not relevant, if you voted for the SNP you voted for the… Read more »
Hi Jonathan, Interesting comments – but I would argue you’re falling into the same trap that many others have done during the last 25 years. With respect, I feel you’re trying to construct too clever a strategy. Referendums have become the bane of British political life. They should be confirmatory in nature, sealing something already agreed by the majority. They should not be used to achieve outcomes in knife-edge propositions like Scottish independence – or Brexit. The 2014 referendum need never have been conceded by David Cameron – who thought himself rather too clever by half, and that he could… Read more »
Hi Alan Thats really interesting, thankyou. I do agree with the whole referendum thing, I personally can’t abide them, the tool of the popularism that can really threaten to destabilise Parliamentary/Representative democracy. Personally I would like to seem them all put to bed and have our nation run by reliable Representative democracy that can be set up to even answer complex questions around constitutional issues (Supported by things like constitution summits ect). I sort of hope that Scotland can regain its faith in more traditions parties and stop voting in the Nationalists so they become the fringe group they used… Read more »
But we, as in the rest of the UK, should not have to prove anything to the people of Scotland, the facts are clear.
I really would not like an even bigger proportion of government spending to go to Scotland then is currently the case. Scotland simply already has its cake and is eating it whilst rest of UK especially in terms of defence expenditure proportionately does not receive such luxuriant funding.
Free social care, free university places, free prescriptions. Majority of shipbuilding etc etc.
Mister Bell, Indeed, the facts are clear …… England: Nuclear submarine production, jet fighter production, jet engine production etc Let’s not allow destroyer and frigate work in Scotland to obscure us from recognising that defence investment in England is huge. “Free social care, free university places, free prescriptions” may be controversial – but these are spending priorities set by the devolved Scottish administration from the block grant, often at the expense of other social programmes in Scotland. It’s also worth pointing out that Scotland is hardly unique in having high levels of public spending – and indeed other parts of… Read more »
Agree Jonathan. I would be inclind to allow another Independence Vote as soon as possible to attempt to put the issue to bd once and for all. Does anyone, apart from all the many other reasons,want a hard borde betweenEngland and Scotland. Insanity!
Agree 3-4 years time, once we are through the other side of the pandemic and the full implications of Brexit are known and identified.
I do find it funny that the SNP state they have no say in running their own country when they have max devolution currently and then want to leave the UK to join the EU.
How is that going to be maintaining independence and sovereignty?
Hi Mark, I agree – after Thursday’s election the improvement in the SNP fortunes is one meagre additional seat at Holyrood! The party remains a minority administration, only able to govern with the support of the Greens – the so-called “gardening wing” of the SNP! And in terms of share of the vote, the SNP came last! Scots who couldn’t be bothered to vote: 1, 585, 348 Pro-UK Parties: 1,369, 243 votes Separatist supporting parties: 1,326,194 votes There is no mandate for independence. Not that the SNP have any ideas palatable to the Scottish public on Currency, Borders, or tax… Read more »
Hi Alan ( and Los pollos ) my Scots friends. Always enjoy reading the realism and realities you inject into this subject. I’m a “London boy” as Los pollos calls it, but I had a sleepless night Saturday, so upset, worried, pissed off, and quite depressed I was with the situation. The Scottish part of me that runs in my blood is obviously strong! ( Gordons/Cormacks/ Lewis Great and Great Great Grandparents! ) That the elephant in the room being a vote mostly based on FPTP which enables the SNP to win so many seats as the union vote is… Read more »
Hi, please keep in mind our comment moderation policy with regards to party political issues. This comment should serve as a warning with regards to future posts.
Also after a yes vote the SNP could become less influential, political battle grounds will be draw more around traditional right v left policies. Yes vote could see the SNP disappear within 10 years.
How exactly would in independent Scotland stop them? lol
Hi, please keep in mind our comment moderation policy with regards to party political issues. This comment should serve as a warning with regards to future posts.
But there are no Royal Navy ships in Scotland!
Using ship trackers isn’t the best way to figure out where naval ships are during exercises. But if anyone wants to look at Flight Radar 24 and track the Cobham Falcon 20’s they will find they are very busy flying pretty patterns
between the inner and outer Hebrides WSW of Skye.
Selecting appropriate choice of words such as the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Asia Pacific, HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Carrier Strike Group show an understanding of power in each of those areas. This is the characteristic of the British that I admire, writing English with depth.