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RAF Chinook Helicopters Requalify on HMS Queen Elizabeth for Evacuation and Disaster-Relief Missions
RAF Chinooks from 27 Squadron completed two weeks of Exercise Hathi Pol aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, restoring qualifications for operating heavy-lift helicopters from the carrier. Aircrew, engineers, aircraft handlers, flight-control staff and bridge personnel practised shipboard procedures, including moving a Chinook from the flight deck into the hangar for sheltered maintenance. The exercise also rebuilt the carrier crew’s aviation-handling skills after overhaul work in Rosyth and Portsmouth. The training supports sustained Chinook operations from either Queen Elizabeth-class ship for humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and civilian evacuation missions, with the activity concluding as the carrier arrived in Gibraltar.