HMS Prince of Wales is being prepared to deploy on a major Nato exercise after problems were identified with her sister ship HMS Elizabeth which has been forced into emergency repairs.
The UK is set to send the £4billion aircraft is set to be deployed in the Red Sea to replace the USS Dwight D Eisenhower when it is returned to America
The £3.2billion warship, the biggest ever built for Britain, has been plagued by one nightmare after another that has seen the 920ft ocean giant spending more time being fixed in port than at sea.
Royal Navy flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth left Portsmouth this morning to set sail for northern Europe, leading a carrier strike group made up of warships, helicopters and F35B Lightning fighter jets.
Exclusive: A former navy chief said the two years the ship spent docked was embarrassing , adding: You don t build huge warships and put all your eggs into one basket for her to just sit alongside.