British aircraft carrier sidelined from NATO exercise due to malfunction

LONDON (AP) — A British aircraft carrier leading NATO’s biggest exercises since the Cold War will not sail Sunday after a problem with its propeller was discovered during a final check, the Royal Navy said.

HMS Queen Elizabeth will not take part in the exercises off the Arctic coast of Norway and will be replaced by the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.

The change in plans is almost the opposite scenario to what happened in August 2022, when HMS Prince of Wales broke up due to a propeller problem en route to conduct training exercises with the United States and Canada near North America. The aircraft carrier had to be towed back to port from the Isle of Wight and HMS Queen Elizabeth took her place in the exercise.

After the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was sidelined, the Royal Navy may not be able to deploy aircraft to the Red Sea – as Britain’s Armed Forces Minister James Heppey has suggested – where Iran-backed Houthi rebels are at risk against cargo ships. Hostilities are increasing with the attacks. In the waters connecting Asia with Europe and the United States.

The United Kingdom on Saturday joined the United States in a second wave of strikes on 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, aimed at further disabling the Iran-backed groups, which have repeatedly attacked US and international interests.

The propeller problem is the second blow to the Royal Navy in less than three weeks after a collision between two warships in a port in Bahrain left the ships damaged but no one injured.

Military officials said they were investigating the cause of the collision which saw HMS Chiddingfold capsize towards HMS Bangor while docked. Two mine hunters were based in the Middle East to help protect merchant ships.

HMS Prince of Wales will now lead Exercise Steadfast Defender with a carrier strike involving eight ships, four of which will be from the UK, as well as US, Spanish and Danish ships.