Where has the glorious Royal Navy gone?
Weighed down by serious recruitment problems in recent years, the British navy must now face mechanical problems.
One of its two latest generation aircraft carriers, the
HMS Queen Elizabeth,
found itself on the ground.
He was to take part in NATO's “Steadfast Defender” exercise, the largest since the end of the Cold War.
Some 50 warships, 80 planes, 1,100 combat vehicles and 90,000 soldiers from the organization's 31 member countries are expected from the end of January to the end of May.
The United Kingdom must play an important role, by deploying 20,000 soldiers.
On Sunday February 4, a
“problem with a coupling on the starboard propeller shaft”
forced the ship to withdraw, as announced by Vice-Admiral Andrew Paul Burns, Commander of the Royal Navy Fleet.
Although the aircraft carrier was technically seaworthy, it was immobilized as a precaution.
Its
“
sister ship
”
,
HMS Prince of Wales
, was then to replace it.
But his departure was
“postponed”
, Sunday February 11, without the reason being known.
He was finally due to set sail this Monday at lunchtime.
Ships costing 3 billion euros each
Hundreds of people gathered in Portsmouth harbor on Sunday to watch the departure scheduled for midday, reports the BBC.
But the
Prince of Wales
ultimately did not cast off.
This delay, like the cancellation of the
Queen Elizabeth
's departure , is seen as a humiliation across the Atlantic.
Because the “
Steadfast Defender
”
exercise
follows a scenario based
“on the activation of Article 5”
of the North Atlantic Treaty
“triggered by a fictitious attack against the Alliance launched by a close adversary”
.
It therefore requires a certain reactivity on the part of the allies.
Also read: Europeans won over by fear of direct war with Russia
On this subject, the British Minister of Defense Grant Shapps wanted to be reassuring, emphasizing that the
Queen Elizabeth
“very probably”
could
have put to sea in the event of a real situation.
Military sources also told the
Telegraph
that there was nothing
"untoward"
about the
Prince of Wales's
delay .
However, this delay comes only 18 months after the aircraft carrier suffered a breakdown off the Isle of Wight, for a problem similar to that of the
Queen Elizabeth
.
The Defense Ministry had said the two issues were
“distinct and unrelated”
.
But the
Prince of Wales
had spent nine months in dry dock, only to emerge last July.
In total, as the Opex360 blog points out, the ship spent almost twice as long in the shipyard as at sea (515 days of immobilization compared to 267 days of mission).
A low ratio for a ship worth more than 3 billion euros, launched in 2019.
Human resources issues
In addition to their mechanical setbacks, the two British aircraft carriers are experiencing serious human resources problems.
In mid-January,
The Telegraph
revealed that the United Kingdom was unable to send aircraft carriers to the Red Sea to fight against the Houthis, due to a lack of sailors.
Because the carrier strike
group that accompanies
it was not operational.
To put to sea, the aircraft carrier must be escorted by at least one destroyer, one frigate, one submarine and one supply ship.
However, as
The Telegraph
points out , the
RFA Fort Victoria
supply ship lacks sailors and has been in dry dock for repairs since returning from its last mission in the Indo-Pacific, in 2021. It is the only building capable of providing a strong logistical support to the carrier strike group, taking on board ammunition, equipment and food.
As part of an exercise like
Steadfast
Defender
, the British carrier strike group can work with allies to secure supplies
.
But in the event of conflict,
“it will not be able to count indefinitely on the logistical support of its allies
,” warns a naval expert interviewed by the British daily.