Navy ready to send carrier to the Red Sea
ROYAL Navy chiefs are celebrating after ministers agreed to send an aircraft carrier to the Middle East – but the move faces huge issues.
It comes after the Iranianbacked Houthi terrorist group said it would intensify ‘ selfdefence’ attacks on any US and British warships deployed in the Red Sea.
The Mail has been told Admiral Sir Tony Radakin urged politicians to use one of the £3.5 billion platforms when the crisis began in October.
But the Chief of the Defence Staff was overruled as ministers opted to send Cyprus-based RAF Typhoons on 3,000-mile trips.
Some naval officers considered the RAF’s contribution ‘ token’ and ‘not-sustainable’.
The absence of a UK carrier has left the US to conduct almost the entirety of air strikes on Houthi military infrastructure.
The rebels who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have been attacking ships in and around the Red Sea, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war.
Yet as their terror attacks on international shipping have continued, Britain’s hugely expensive carriers have remained anchored at home.
Following the government’s U-turn however, the ‘senior service’ has begun a frantic effort to ensure a carrier is ready to sail. The Mail has learned HMS Queen Elizabeth is at the highest readiness as she is due to depart on a major Nato exercise on Sunday.
The carrier would apparently be diverted from the Steadfast Defender exercise should the threat to cargo ships and tankers persist.
An official Navy source said: ‘The carriers have proved they can operate on their own and with our US allies.
‘What that would look like in terms of combining assets with the US will be being considered.’
As part of this process, concerns have emerged about the extent to which the Royal Navy’s flagship will require US support.
Anxious officers have suggested the UK will need Airborne Early Warning systems and a means to refuel HMS Queen Elizabeth’s fleet of F-35B stealth jets.
Sources have also raised the alarm about the UK’s main weapon system, Paveway IV. The precision guided bombs apparently require a pilot to fly their aircraft to within ‘danger close’ range of their targets.
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey suggested the UK could provide an aircraft carrier to replace the USS Dwight D Eisenhower. But according to sources, the US may already have assigned a replacement carrier.