Year of highs and lows for RN CSG 21
HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives at Duqm Port, Oman. (Photo: MoD/ Crown Copyright)
The UK RN returned to aircraft carrier operations in 2021 with an ambitious deployment.
In December 2021, the ships of the RN's Carrier Strike Group 2021 (CSG 21) returned from the UK after a marathon deployment that saw a string of exercises with partner forces and the unfortunate loss of a short take-off vertical landing F-35B fighter jet.
During the deployment, CSG 21, made up of its multi-national shipping and air wing, toured the globe with a significant leg of the journey dedicated to operating in the Indo-Pacific.
According to MoD figures released in response to a UK parliamentary question on 16 December, the additional operating cost of deploying the CSG is estimated at
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