On 2 February 2018,
Queen Elizabeth sailed from Portsmouth for a second time, for a six-week deployment to undergo the first phases of operational training; initially, the ship was scheduled to head into the
Western Approaches to undertake her initial
Operational Sea Training (OST) programme. Once complete,
Queen Elizabeth was then taken into the
North Atlantic for both heavy weather testing and operations to begin helicopter certification, including with
Merlin Mk2 and Mk3 and Chinook helicopters. During this deployment, the ship made her first overseas port visit, stopping over in
Gibraltar from 9 to 12 February. During this, the ship also began initial amphibious assault trials, with
Royal Marines from
42 Commando embarked to simulate an air assault scenario.
Queen Elizabeth was also scheduled to undergo a first
replenishment at sea from ; although the actual replenishment had to be abandoned due to bad weather, the rendezvous allowed both ships the opportunity to simulate the scenario in detail.
Queen Elizabeth returned to Portsmouth on 27 February 2018, berthing at Princess Royal Jetty. On 2 March 2018 in Portsmouth Harbour,
Queen Elizabeth successfully tested her port side Marine Evacuation System (MES), a series of bright orange inflatable escape chutes and rafts.
Queen Elizabeth departed Portsmouth for a third time on 10 June 2018, heading to the coasts of Cornwall for a second phase of helicopter flight trials. After the trials were completed,
Queen Elizabeth headed for home and performed her first replenishment at sea (RAS) refuelling operation with
Tidespring on 21 June 2018 in the English Channel, then returned to Portsmouth on 23 June 2018. On return from the initial OST and helicopter certification work, further work was undertaken to prepare the ship for the operation of fixed-wing aircraft, in conjunction with regular maintenance and installation of her final weapons fit.
2018: Westlant 18 Queen Elizabeths first significant deployment took place during autumn 2018, when the ship travelled across the Atlantic to begin flying trials with her fixed-wing aircraft. Although the programme covered a range of areas, including the continued workup of the
Commander UK Carrier Strike Group and his staff, embarked for a deployment for the first time, and small-scale exercises to test the ship's ability to land troops in the secondary amphibious role, the primary purpose was the first phase of fixed-wing flying trials involving the F-35B over two separate periods of approximately 3–4 weeks each starting in mid-September, utilising a pair of the instrumented development aircraft from
VX-23, the US Navy's air testing unit at
NAS Patuxent River. The testing programme saw the first launch of an F-35 from a
ski-jump at sea (the F-35B has operated from the US Navy's assault ships, but these are not fitted with ski-jumps), and the first demonstration of the
shipborne rolling vertical landing technique. In addition to the F-35 trials,
Queen Elizabeth also began qualifications for types of aircraft operated by the US armed forces, including the
V-22 Osprey. As part of the deployment, the ship made her first overseas port visit to
New York City in October, in between layovers at
Naval Station Norfolk, some operations in the
Caribbean possible, to test the ship's hot weather performance, as well as being on hand if needed for any disaster relief operations during the hurricane season.
Queen Elizabeth was scheduled to return to the UK in December. On 18 August 2018,
Queen Elizabeth sailed from Portsmouth on what was termed as "Westlant 18", carrying three Merlin Mk2 helicopters of 820 NAS. Later, on 20 August 2018, three additional Merlin Mk4 helicopters from 845 NAS were embarked to the ship.
Queen Elizabeth was then met by to form a carrier group. On 3 September 2018,
Monmouths Wildcat HMA2 helicopter became the first of its type to land aboard
Queen Elizabeth. On 5 September 2018, the two ships arrived at
Naval Station Mayport in north-east Florida, for a period of replenishment. The ships remained in Florida for eight days before departing for the planned trip northwards to US
Naval Station Norfolk. During the transit north, she was to undertake an amphibious assault exercise off the coast of
South Carolina using its Merlin Mk4 helicopters and Royal Marines of
42 Commando. However, due to the effects of
Hurricane Florence, this exercise was cancelled and the group instead sailed south;
Monmouth headed to waters off
The Bahamas, which acted as a windbreak, while
Queen Elizabeth skirted around the south of the hurricane zone. The group eventually arrived at Norfolk on 17 September. During the period alongside at Norfolk,
Queen Elizabeth embarked a further 200 personnel of the F-35B Integrated Test Force, to undertake the testing and analysis of the two F-35B aircraft to be used during the initial set of flying trials. During the initial F-35B trials,
Queen Elizabeth also began trials for the UK Carrier Group staff when the ship, along with
Monmouth, formed a task group with the US Navy destroyer and , a
fast combat support ship, which performed RAS with
Queen Elizabeth and
Monmouth on 1 October 2018. During October, the first instances of
cross-decking took place when a US Navy
MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter, and a
US Marine Corps tiltrotor
MV-22B Osprey landed on board. The first
shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) by an F-35 was undertaken on 14 October – this was also the first operational demonstration of the technique on a ship at sea, and is planned as the primary method of recovering fixed-wing aircraft aboard the
Queen Elizabeth class. On 19 October 2018,
Queen Elizabeth arrived in New York City for a planned seven day visit. Kyd remarked "we are the biggest carrier to go in there for about 50 years", as the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are forbidden from making a port of call in New York City. She dropped anchor near
Ellis and
Liberty Islands in
Upper New York Bay. During the ship's stopover, she played host to a forum hosted by
Gavin Williamson, the UK
Secretary of State for Defence, on the future of
cyber security, as well as an international trade day hosted by
Liam Fox, the
Secretary of State for International Trade. On 19 November 2018, another milestone was met with a F-35B test pilot landing on the ship facing the stern instead of the bow.
2018 to 2019: Post-Westlant 18 Following the ship's return from Westlant 18,
Queen Elizabeth began a maintenance period in early 2019 that saw the installation of the remainder of the ship's self-defence armament, with two
Phalanx CIWS mounts fitted. This was followed by the ship's return to Rosyth to allow it to be dry-docked for its first scheduled hull inspection. The remaining Phalanx CIWS and four
DS30M mounts will be fitted during 2020. After further fixed-wing aircraft trials in 2019, using British F-35 aircraft over UK waters, followed then by operational testing.
Queen Elizabeth was expected to reach
initial operational capability by 2020, now with Commodore
Stephen Moorhouse in command. Gavin Williamson announced that the ship's first deployment will be to the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Pacific region, the last to counter China's territorial claims in the South China Sea. On 10 January 2019, ''
Jane's Defence Weekly reported that F-35 aircraft of the United Kingdom would join the F-35Bs of the US Marine Corps in embarking Queen Elizabeth'' for the ship's first operational cruise in 2021.
2019: Westlant 19 during Exercise Westlant 19.
Queen Elizabeth departed for her second WESTLANT cruise on 30 August 2019. This deployment was to undertake the second stage of fixed-wing flight testing, and would see the F-35B employed as a full part of the ship's air group, with
617 Squadron due to embark for the first time to operate alongside
17 Squadron, the type's evaluation unit. The deployment will also see the first full up operation of the
UK Carrier Strike Group, with
Queen Elizabeth to be accompanied by and HMS
Dragon supported by . On 13 October 2019, F-35Bs from 17 Squadron landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time. HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived home in Portsmouth on 4 December 2019. On 16 December 2019, the first-ever F-35B launch in British territorial waters took place, when an aircraft of that model took off from the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth Harbour. The aircraft, registration ZM148 (BK14) safely returned to its base at
RAF Marham on the same day. ZM148 (BK14) had developed a fault during Westlant19 and was retained aboard Queen Elizabeth for repair.
2019 to 2021: Post-Westlant 19 HMS
Queen Elizabeth departed Portsmouth in January 2020 for flight trials in UK waters for the first time and was joined by British-owned F-35B Lightning aircraft from
RAF No. 207 Squadron. In June 2020, F-35Bs from 617 Squadron landed on
Queen Elizabeth for Operational Sea Training to prepare for Initial Operating Capability (Maritime) by the end of 2020. The summer 2020 period was spent in harbour undergoing preparation work for September, when the ship took part in a major carrier group exercise that was run as part of
Exercise Joint Warrior, with the
Queen Elizabeth accompanied not just by ships of the Royal Navy, but also an escort from both the US and Dutch navies, as well as two squadrons of F-35Bs- one each from both the RAF and
USMC. Following the conclusion of
Joint Warrior, the ship returned to port to have the remainder of its equipment fitted, while the joint UK/US air group undertook a further exercise from RAF Marham. Initial Operating Capability was announced on 4 January 2021, and on 27 January, the ship assumed the role of
Fleet Flagship of the Royal Navy, taking over from amphibious transport dock .
2021: Carrier Strike Group 21 Between 7 and 21 May, the Carrier Strike Group took part in Exercise Strike Warrior, as part of Exercise Joint Warrior 21-1 Once the carrier strike group finished Exercise Strike Warrior, it made its way back to HMNB Portsmouth for final preparations, before finally departing on 23 or 24 May. On 21 May, Prime Minister
Boris Johnson toured the ship. Queen
Elizabeth II visited the ship on 22 May. Initially the group took part in joint exercises with NATO partners in the Eastern Atlantic, before entering the
Mediterranean Sea, where it more conducted exercises with Mediterranean NATO allies, including with the
French carrier
Charles de Gaulle, in the dual-carrier exercise named Exercise Gallic Strike before entering port at
Souda Bay for a logistic stop. A Type 45 destroyer,
HMS Defender and
HNLMS Evertsen detached from the group to enter the
Black Sea – a visit that was already planned prior to the
heightened Russian activity in the region. On 7 July 2021, the group transited the
Suez Canal to enter the Indian Ocean where they conducted joint exercises with the
Indian Navy before proceeding past Singapore, without stopping, to enter the disputed
South China Sea region to conduct
freedom of navigation exercises in the area with the US Navy. Subsequently, the group will pay a visit to South Korea and then conduct exercises with the
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and
United States Navy around the islands of Japan. On 18 June 2021,
Queen Elizabeth began combat operations against ISIS, supporting
Operation Inherent Resolve. F-35B aircraft from
617 Squadron, RAF and
US Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) launched strikes from
Queen Elizabeth to attack
ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. An outbreak of
COVID-19 was reported on
Queen Elizabeth and her escort ships on 14 July 2021. The British Defence Secretary stated that the outbreak was being managed and that all personnel in the Carrier Strike Group had been vaccinated against COVID-19. Mitigation measures were also in place aboard the warships including the use of masks, social distancing and a "Track and Trace system" to monitor personnel movement. The deployment proceeded as planned to Japan. On 26 July 2021,
Queen Elizabeth and her escort ships conducted a passage exercise with three ships from the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) in the South China Sea. This is the first time that a Royal Navy Carrier Strike Group has conducted military exercises with the RSN. On 16 November 2021, one of the carrier's F-35B fighters, ZM152 from
617 Squadron, crashed during operations in the Mediterranean. The pilot was able to eject safely.
2023: Carrier Strike Deployment 23 In September 2023, the carrier embarked eight F-35B fighters from 617 Squadron, five Merlin helicopters from
820 Squadron and three Wildcat helicopters from
847 Squadron for its "Operation FIREDRAKE" deployment in northern European waters. Of five Merlins deployed, two were in the AEW configuration. The carrier was escorted by , and
RFA Tideforce.
2024: Post CSD 23 On 4 September 2024, a member of Royal Navy personnel died after a Merlin Mk. 4 helicopter ditched in the
English Channel near
Dorset while conducting night flying exercises with HMS Queen Elizabeth. The two other crew onboard were taken to hospital.
2025–6: Major refit and return to sea HMS Queen Elizabeth went into Rosyth in July 2025 for a major refit. Following its completion, she returned to sea in April 2026. ==Aircraft==