CARRIER CALLS AT OSLO, STRIKE MISSILES ORDERED

The British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in late 2022 called at Oslo, Norway, cementing good relations with a key NATO ally via some defence diplomacy.

It came after the British Fleet Flagship spent time in the North Sea, conducting Carrier Qualifications for pilots of UK F-35B jets. See our feature on P32/33 in the January 2023 edition of Warships IFR.

According to a Royal Navy source the visit required the 65,000 tons warship to negotiate 60- miles through the Oslofjord from the Skagerrak and ‘saw the UK’s flagship carefully manoeuvred through the Drobak Sound - which is about 1,000 metres, or nine football pitches wide, and 11 miles long - into the inner fjord.’

Aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth for the entry into Oslo were the Norwegian Chief of Defence, General Erik Kristoffersen and the Chief of the Norwegian Navy, Rear Admiral Rune Andersen, along with the British Ambassador to Norway, Richard Wood, plus other VIP visitors.

The carrier came alongside in the heart of Oslo - in what was her first time visiting Norway - and during the three-day stay towered over the neighbouring Akerbus Fortress.

Although the carrier was not open to the general public during her time in Oslo, Norwegian Prime Minister, and ex-Royal Norwegian Navy officer, Jonas Gahr Store was piped aboard. He was hosted by Commodore Angus Essenhigh, commander of the UK Carrier Strike Group (UK CSG).

During the carrier’s visit to Oslo the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) ordered the Norwegian-made Naval Strike Missile (NSM) for the Royal Navy.

It will be fitted to a combined total of 11 Duke Class (Type 23) and Daring Class (Type 45) warships, as an interim replacement for the Harpoon Anti-ship Missile (ASM) which is being retired from RN service in 2023. The first NSM-equipped RN warship will be operational by the end of 2023.

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