Moment new F-35 Lightning fighter jet takes off from Royal Navy aircraft carrier for first time in UK

Rebecca Speare-Cole16 December 2019

This is the moment the new F-35B Lightning fighter jet took off from the Royal Navy's aircraft carrier for the first time in the UK.

The roar from the state-of-the-art jet could be heard for miles around as it launched from a "ski ramp" on HMS Queen Elizabeth's flight deck while the ship was docked in Portsmouth.

The aircraft landed on board the 65,000-tonne carrier as it returned from the US, where flight trials for the new jet were recently carried out.

A Royal Navy spokeswoman said the aircraft did not return with the other British jets because of "repair and maintenance" work needed, but it would now return to RAF Marham - the UK's F-35 base in Norfolk.

HMS Queen Elizabeth at Portsmouth Naval Base with the new F35 jet aboard
PA

The spokesman added: "Following completion of successful flying trials in the US, one F-35 Lightning remained embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth in order for repair and maintenance work to be completed."

The F-35B fighter is acclaimed as the world's most advanced jet, with a top speed of 1.6 Mach - 1,200mph - and a range of 900 nautical miles.

A RAF F35B jet sits on the flight deck of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth
PA

The planes were deployed for the first time by the UK in reconnaissance missions over Iraq and Syria in the battle against Islamic State in June this year.

The Queen Elizabeth arrived in Portsmouth earlier this month where the carrier is docked alongside its sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales.

Prince Charles accompanied his wife the Duchess of Cornwall, who officially commissioned HMS Prince of Wales into the Navy last week.

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