Having sailed through the Suez Canal, leaving the Indian Ocean behind, HMS Illustrious is now in the Mediterranean and nearly on the homeward leg of her deployment. But not before she hosts a Royal Reception in Istanbul, attended by Her Majesty the Queen, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, and the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gul.
The Red Arrows are at their usual pre-season training camp on Cyprus, which provided Illustrious with the unique opportunity to see a display from the RAF's world-famous aerobatic display team.
The team in the ship's Operations Room used the occasion to test their skills and successfully track all nine of the Hawks as they approached the ship for their fly past.
Flight Lieutenant Clare Chalmers, one of the Ship's Officers,
commented on the display:
"Seeing the Red Arrows today was awesome. After a long deployment it's always nice to be going home, but it was a real privilege to be treated to a personal display from the Red Arrows."
Illustrious will return to the UK later this month after a deployment of more than four months in the Indian Ocean. Granada TV have made a six-part documentary about the deployment for Channel 5, which begins on Monday 19 May 2008.
See Related Links >>> for more details about the programme and HMS Illustrious on the ship's website.