The Warship: Tour of Duty

It's May 2021 and HMS Queen Elizabeth - higher than Nelson's Column, longer than the Houses of Parliament and weighing in at 65,000 tons - is about to set sail on her first-ever operational mission. Ahead is a gruelling seven-month voyage through the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, to the South China Sea.

The £3.5bn warship carries 18 F35 stealth jet fighters, the most lethal warplane ever designed, plus a squadron of state-of-the-art anti-submarine Merlin helicopters. On board the gigantic aircraft carrier is a ship's company of 1,600 men and women, including 300 US Marines and aviators. This deployment to the other side of an increasingly troubled world will be a demonstration of Britain's new naval strength to friends and foes alike.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is leading a task force of seven destroyers and frigates to protect her and two supply ships to keep her topped up with fuel and stores. The most powerful task force to leave UK shores since the Falklands War will soon need to flex its considerable muscle in the face of escalating international tension and aggression.

In this first episode, the Queen Elizabeth is being shadowed by Russian spy ships in the Mediterranean, testing her weapons and preparing her crew for what lies ahead. Landing in Sicily for their first run ashore, the crew gets a chance to party. It is their last opportunity to relax before entering the eastern Mediterranean, Russia's backyard.