Last edited Sat Mar 7, 2026, 07:13 PM - Edit history (1)
HMS Prince of Wales is stationed in Portsmouth, having been engaged in work-up training, and there are plans to move it to a state of readiness to deploy within five days, though I don't think a final decision has been made yet. HMS Queen Elizabeth, the larger of the two, is in dry dock at Rosyth in Scotland, and won't be available any time soon.
Carriers can't be deployed alone, and there are doubts the Navy can muster enough support ships to make up a carrier group at such short notice. The UK's main destroyer that could fill the escort gap, HMS Dragon, is in maintenance, which is being delayed because the staff reportedly only work 9-5 Monday-Friday, but is expected to sail to the Mediterranean next week. Another destroyer, HMS Duncan, is due to enter maintenance, but I guess that could be postponed if absolutely necessary. A few frigates are currently available, but I've no idea how many. Hunter-killer submarines would also usually serve as escorts to protect the carrier, but would be little use against drones and missiles, which are the major current threats.
Another problem, as you say, with Trump's ignorant screed is that the intention (currently, at least) isn't to support Trump in his lunatic wanton aggression, but to try to defend the UK's air bases in Cyprus, especially Akrotiri. The Cypriot authorities are understandably cheesed off because the UK presence has attracted Iranian drone strikes to the island which would otherwise be of little or no interest to the Iranians, and the future of the UK's presence there is as a result being called into question, which adds to the urgency for Starmer.
The riposte to Trump's yapping about delayed entry to this debacle is that if he wants countries to turn up on time, he needs to give them some bloody notice, and maybe also explain what the fuck his intentions are so they can make informed decisions.
The other obvious problem is in what world this crazy war of choice is "already won", but it's Trump, so it's pointless to hope for reality-based thinking.
If it's "won", what the hell are they still fighting for?
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