HMS Queen Elizabeth returns to Portsmouth after its maiden operational deployment, December 9, 2021.British Royal Navy/PO Jenkins The Royal Navy's new flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, returned from its maiden deployment this month. In its final weeks at sea, the British carrier operated with F-35Bs from a new country but lost one of its own F-35Bs. Even with some mishaps, the carrier's deployment reflected the UK's renewed focus on global military reach. On December 9, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth — the Royal Navy's new flagship and the largest, most powerful vessel ever constructed for the service — returned to Portsmouth after its maiden deployment.During seven months of operations as Carrier Strike Group 21, HMS Queen Elizabeth and its escorts sailed through the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Western Pacific, working alongside ships from 17 countries and participating in 18 major exercises.The carrier's deployment was significant for many reasons and featured a number of milestones involving the F-35 aircraft, including the loss of a British F-35B.A seaborne F-35 hubUS and UK F-35Bs shortly after embarking aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth on September 22, 2020.Royal Navy/LPhot Belinda AlkerCarrier Strike Group 21's mission was the largest deployment of F-35 aircraft since the F-35 program began.Aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, which can carry 40 aircraft, were 18 F-35s: 10 F-35Bs from US Marine Corps' Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 and eight F-35Bs from Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron, known as "the Dambusters" in reference to a daring World War II mission.During the deployment, British and American F-35Bs completed 1,278 sorties — including 44 missions against ISIS targets in support of Operation Inherent Resolve — and flew more than 2,200 hours in total."We have never seen a ship with 18 F-35s out there that is going to transverse half the world like we're going to do," Lt.