Today, it has lost its way, to put it mildly.
We read about it almost every day, of how the country has plunged into the abyss of deterioration, of degradation and of deep decline. And in the news now, Britain is left embarrassed by its Royal Navy aircraft carriers!
HMS Prince of Wales, one of the two aircraft carriers with the UK Navy, has reportedly failed to depart for the largest NATO exercise this year. The Times reported there was a minor fuel leak aboard the carrier on Saturday. However, the report didn't link it to the delay in its departure.
HMS Prince of Wales was to replace HMS Queen Elizabeth (commissioned in December 2017) to spearhead Nordic Response 2024 drills, part of NATO'S wider Steadfast Defender 2024 Exercise in March. Earlier this month, the HMS Queen Elizabeth's participation in war games was cancelled at the last minute on February 04, after a problem with the starboard propeller shaft coupling was discovered. Meaning, it was also unable to leave port within the scheduled time-frame.
HMS Prince of Wales, which cost an estimated £3.2 billion ($4 billion) to build, has been plagued by problems since being commissioned in December 2019. The ship with a crew of 1,400 sailors, capable of launching NATO's latest F-35B multi-role combat aircraft, suffered major flooding on two occasions in 2020. The second flood filled the engine room with thousands of gallons of seawater and required 193 days of repairs, which cost $4 million.
And in 2022, its propeller shaft broke down after HMS Prince of Wales departed for the US. Naval officials reportedly blamed it on the crew forgetting to grease the shaft adequately. The Times even reported in 2022 that the HMS Prince of Wales has actually been spending more time docked for repairs than on duty since being put into service.
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