A landmark event was held for the new British aircraft carrier and for the entire fleet of Her Majesty as a whole. On board the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth deployed the first air squadron. It's about the 820th squadron (820 Naval Air Squadron), which is armed with rotorcraft Merlin Mk2. Earlier they had already boarded the ship, but the ground base remained the ground base. Now the pilots and technicians will be on duty around the clock Queen Elizabeth.

The Merlin Mk2 anti-submarine helicopter is an upgraded version of the Merlin Mk1. As part of the modernization, the rotorcraft, in particular, received new modern displays in the cockpit and new communication and navigation systems. An important part of the helicopter's capabilities will be the Crowsnest complex, which will become the eyes and ears of British aircraft carriers. Technical restrictions do not allow the Queen Elizabeth type ships to carry long-range radar detection (DRLO) aircraft, and their functions will be partly taken over by helicopters.

The British military itself hopes that Merlin Mk2 with the Crowsnest system will effectively serve until 2029, enabling seafarers to identify potential threats in water, under water and in the air. The system consists of the latest version of the Searchwater radar, as well as the Cerberus control system developed by Thales.

Carriers of the "Queen Elizabeth" type are the largest and most powerful in terms of the sum of the tactical qualities of the ships in the history of the British fleet. In total, the Royal Navy of Great Britain will receive two such aircraft carriers.

The basis of the same strike power of the ship will be fifth generation fighter F-35B, having the ability to short take-off and vertical landing (some sources erroneously indicate the modification of the F-35C). This is the American "invisible" fifth generation, which in theory will provide the British Navy with tactical superiority over virtually all naval forces in the world.

The only weighty exception is the US Navy, which is operated by more powerful aircraft carriers such as Nimitz and Gerald Ford. In quantitative terms, American aircraft carriers are also much larger, even without universal landing craft (UDC), which in fact can be considered American mini-aircraft carriers and which also carry fifth-generation fighters.