Overview
- HMS Queen Elizabeth, which left the Rosyth basin on Sunday, is anchored in the Firth of Forth awaiting a tidal window to pass under the Forth Bridges.
- A Temporary Restricted Area from 19 to 24 April bars drones below 1,400 feet over North Queensferry and sets a 200‑metre maritime exclusion zone under Article 239 of the Air Navigation Order 2016.
- The planned upkeep ran slightly longer than scheduled and included propulsion upgrades and Lloyd’s‑mandated dry‑dock surveys of the hull, rudders, propellers, valves and sea chests.
- Sea trials will check the ship’s systems after the maintenance work, and the carrier is then expected to sail back to Portsmouth with the near‑term program still to be confirmed.
- A planned fit of the Bedford Array, a precision aid for F‑35B rolling landings, was dropped during the refit.