Article Posted on : - Nov 25, 2010

A Harrier GR9 jump jet fighter takes off from HMS Ark Royal. A UK MoD photo

NEWCASTLE, UK (BNS): As the British Royal Navy prepares to decommission its flagship aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal next month, the vessel has hosted the GR9 Harrier fighters for one last time on Wednesday.

The third and final Invincible-class light aircraft carrier, which served the Royal Navy for 25 long years after being commissioned on 1 November 1985, HMS Ark Royal will bow out of service along with the iconic Harrier GR9 multi-role fighters next month.

Before bidding adieu, four of the warplanes took off from the deck of Ark Royal at 0900hrs Wednesday morning approximately 40 nautical miles (74km) off the coast of Newcastle.

The aircraft were from Joint Force Harrier, based at RAF Cottesmore, the home of the Harriers belonging to 1 (Fighter) Squadron Royal Air Force and 800 Naval Air Squadron (NAS).

The GR9 aircraft’s tails were repainted and emblazoned with the emblems of the squadrons they represent and each squadron embarked two aircraft on HMS Ark Royal whilst she was transiting the Moray Firth on Friday 19 November, prior to her entering Newcastle, the city in which Swan Hunter built the ship - her steel being cut in 1978, the Navy said.

Britain has decided to decommission the HMS Ark Royal, the fifth aircraft carrier in the series, and the Harrier fighters to curtail its defence budget.

While the Harriers will be formally decommissioned in 2011 and heading to RAF Cottesmore in Rutland, the 22,000-tonne Ark Royal will head to the Portsmouth base next month and end her active service life three years early.

Following the decommissioning of the vessel, HMS Illustrious, presently in refit in Rosyth, will regenerate her helicopter capability alongside HMS Ocean, the Navy said.