Sailors lined the flight deck as the 3 billion-pound (USD 3.87 billion) aircraft carrier arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base. The 280-metre vessel has been training at sea since June after setting out from Rosyth dockyard in Scotland.
Two flybys of Royal Navy helicopters added to the pageantry. A band of Royal Marines entertained the crowds, and the families of service members lined the jetty to cheer.
"She is Britain's statement to the world: a demonstration of British military power and our commitment to a bigger global role," Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said.
Fallon said in June that Russia would look at the new carrier with envy, pointing at Russia's "dilapidated" Admiral Kuznetsov carrier. Russia's defense ministry spokesman fired back, dismissing the British carrier as just a "conveniently large sea target" that should stay close to U.S. Protection assets.
The carrier is the largest ever for the Royal Navy, and is built specifically for the F-35, the much heralded next generation fighter jet. The military has estimated that by 2023, it will have 24 jets on board.
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