► Text: Observer.com, Liu Chenghui
According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on February 4, due to mechanical problems in the propeller found during a routine inspection before the voyage, the British aircraft carrier "Queen Elizabeth" will withdraw from NATO's largest post-Cold War exercise, and another British aircraft carrier "Prince of Wales" will participate in the exercise in its place. It was also the second incident in three weeks for the British navy, after two warships collided in a port in Bahrain, causing damage to the ships but no injuries.
The Royal Navy announced the news on social media X. According to the description of the British military, the "Queen Elizabeth" aircraft carrier was originally scheduled to set sail on the 5th to participate in the exercise, but a routine inspection before the voyage found that there was a problem with the carrier's starboard propeller coupling, so the "Prince of Wales" will "set off as soon as possible" to participate in the exercise instead of it.
British Navy aircraft carrier "Queen Elizabeth" / IC Photo
Christopher Cavoli, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, announced last month that the alliance would hold a four-month military exercise, codenamed Steadfast Defender 2024, with about 90,000 troops participating, the largest since the Cold War, to counter the threat of an "imaginary enemy of close strength." According to reports, more than 50 ships, more than 80 fighter jets, helicopters and drones, and at least 1,100 combat vehicles, including 133 tanks and 533 infantry fighting vehicles, will participate in the exercise.
The Associated Press (AP) noted that the accident of the British aircraft carrier is the opposite of the situation in August 2022, when the "Prince of Wales" broke down due to propeller problems on the way to North America to hold joint military exercises with the United States and Canada, and it was the "Queen Elizabeth" who participated in the exercise in its place.
However, a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense said that the problems with the two aircraft carriers "are independent and unrelated." The spokesman said, "The problem identified is related to the ship's coupling. The ship's propeller shafts were too large to be made of a single metal, so each shaft consisted of three parts, connected together using couplings. ”
The accident of the "Queen Elizabeth" also disrupted the British army's plans to deploy aircraft carriers to the Red Sea. Against the backdrop of frequent attacks on shipping ships in the Red Sea, British Secretary of State for Defense James Shipper said on January 30 that Britain may send aircraft carriers to the Red Sea to replace US aircraft carriers operating there.
Two British warships collided in Bahraini waters last month/social media
It is worth mentioning that this is the second accident in the British Royal Navy in three weeks. On January 18, local time, two ships of the British Navy collided in the waters near Bahrain, and a loud noise was heard at the scene, and one of the warships was knocked out of a large hole. There were no casualties in the accident, and the British Navy's top brass is investigating the incident. British media said that the accident may affect the British operation in the Gulf region.
The British Navy, which has "dropped the chain" one after another, has attracted complaints from netizens in the news comment area.
"Our armed forces are an absolute laughing stock. ”
"If you ask at this point how many of our ships are unusable, the answer is likely to be shocking. ”
"If this continues, we might as well disband the armed forces and leave behind about a thousand honor guards. ”
Source: Observer.com