The HMS Queen Elizabeth - nicknamed 'Big Lizzie' - will travel from the naval base in Hampshire on Saturday ahead of the first deployment of the UK's Carrier Strike Group (CSG) next month. The destroyers HMS Defender and HMS Diamond were photographed departing Portsmouth earlier today, with the Ministry of Defence confirming to MailOnline that 'Big Lizzie' will follow suit later this afternoon. But the Royal Navy will avoid the Taiwan Strait as Big Lizzie sails towards South Korea and Japan in the final leg of the trip to avoid provoking China further. The Royal Navy Astute-class submarine will also be deployed, armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles. Commodore Stephen Moorhouse said: 'This is an amazing capability and pulling that all together with our international partners is a real statement that the Royal Navy is very much in the Premier League.

Source: The Nation May 01, 2021 15:09 UTC