HMS Queen Elizabeth was in Hamburg, Germany, when a drone visit raised suspicions about the China co-owned Tollerort container terminal.
The Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived in Hamburg, Germany, on Nov. 18, 2024, for a five-day visit leading to a major defense agreement between United Kingdom and Germany. While it was at the entrance of the port, in the early morning of Nov. 22, reports emerged about suspicious drone activity near the vessel.
According to Bild, the water protection police reported the sighting of a 1.5 by 1.5-meter drone flying in the area at about 4:25 a.m. The Bundeswehr quickly reacted to the threat by activating drone jamming teams equipped with HP 47 Handheld Jammers. The drone, however, flew away before it could be targeted and was last sighted around the Tollerort container terminal.
Moin, moin Hamburg…#RoyalNavy flagship @HMSQNLZ has arrived in #Hamburg for a major five-day visit which will underscore the importance of a new major defence agreement between the UK and Germany. 🇬🇧🤝🇩🇪
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— Royal Navy (@RoyalNavy) November 18, 2024
The Bundeswehr’s Heimatschützer (Homeland Guards) were tasked with providing security around the aircraft carrier since its arrival, creating a restricted zone to deter any threats. The security outside this zone was handled by the police, with the two forces cooperating together to track the drone and inspect the area.
The drone activity near the HMS Queen Elizabeth follows the reports of drone activity near RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell. The three bases, located in eastern England and used by the U.S. Air Force, experienced the drone incursions between Nov. 20 and 22. In a statement, the service mentioned that also RAF Fairford was affected.
Der Flugzeugträger HMS Queen Elisabeth der @RoyalNavy legte im Hamburger Hafen an. Die #Heimatschützer innen der #Bundeswehr sicherten hier erstmalig in einem realen Szenario. Ein wichtiges Signal der internationalen Zusammenarbeit und zur Einsatzbereitschaft der Truppe des #TFK. pic.twitter.com/n4XDCoz5fy
— Territoriales Führungskommando (@TFK_Bundeswehr) November 19, 2024
As first reported by The War Zone, these incursions included multiple drones of varying sizes and configurations. According to some reports, F-15Es might have been launched to monitor the situation and attempt to track the drones. The Royal Air Force also deployed 60 troops from the RAF Regiment force protection unit equipped with counter-unmanned aircraft systems (cUAS).
Chinese allegations
According to some sources, China is among the suspects at least for the drone incursion in Hamburg. In fact, Bild reports that the port’s Tollerort container terminal has been co-owned by China for a year.
Auf Wiedersehen, Hamburg!
We are on our way back to sea after five days of cold weather but warm welcomes. Some of our highlights are below, everything from hosting cabinet ministers to football in the snow. pic.twitter.com/2nHS9IVcSH
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— HMS Queen Elizabeth (@HMSQNLZ) November 23, 2024
The HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort is co-owned by Chinese COSCO Shipping Ports Limited, which owns a minority stake of 24.99%. This COSCO investment was signed in June 2023, leading to the development of a dedicated handling location for the freight from China and Asia which would act as a concentration hub for freight flows from Asia and Europe.
HHLA stressed that it would remain independent from COSCO, which would not gain access to either the Port of Hamburg or HHLA itself. Also, the company stated that German law would continue to be applied in all matters, including the Section 109g (images that endanger security) of the German Criminal Code under which the drone incursion is being investigated.
Previous episodes
Earlier this year, a Chinese citizen flew a drone on the JS Izumo and USS Ronal Reagan aircraft carriers moored at Yokosuka naval base in Japan. The high-resolution videos first appeared on Chinese social media in March, beginning with the one of the Izumo, before then spreading to Western social media such as X.
In May, Japan’s Defense Ministry said it determined the video has a “high possibility” to be authentic and that a drone likely flew over Yokosuka naval base to capture on video the warship. On the other hand, the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) said after its own investigation that was no indication that a drone flew over the Ronald Reagan, without commenting on the photos which, however, appear to be authentic.
Germany itself had a drone problem this summer, with repeated drone flights over critical infrastructure in the north of the country on suspicion of espionage activity for sabotage purposes. Among the targets were industrial parks, chemical plants, natural gas terminals and nuclear plants.
According to German media, the authorities have reasons to believe the drones, while were spotted flying at high speed from the sea and back, might be Orlan-10 drones launched by Russian agents from ships in the North Sea. The Orlan-10 has a range of 500 to 600 km and can fly over 100 km/h. This speed, specifically, corresponds to the speed reported by the German police who tried to follow the unidentified drone with its own drones, before requesting the assistance of the military.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth
The HMS Queen Elizabeth is one of the two aircraft carriers in service with the Royal Navy and is also the lead ship of its class. The vessel has a displacement of 65,000 tons, a speed of 25 knots and a range of 10,000 nautical miles. The RN says it has an operational crew of 679, with maximum personnel onboard up to 1,600.
The flight deck is 280 meters long and 70 meters wide, equipped with a ski jump on the front end for the operations of fixed-wing aircraft. A maximum of 72 aircraft can be carried, which includes up to 36 F-35B fighters and an unspecified number of Merlin Mk2 helicopters.
For defensive purposes, the aircraft carrier is equipped with three Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS), which comprise of a radar-guided 20 mm Vulcan cannon used against air and sea threats. The HMS Queen Elizabeth also has mounts to install four 30mm DS30M Mk2 guns, however the service apparently decided to not install them anymore.
It is unclear if the ship integrates counter UAS systems, both kinetic and non-kinetic, or if its crew has been equipped with portable c-UAS systems to be used as the need arise.
