On this day 19 October 2010
Published: 19 Oct 2012
On 19 October 2010, the government announced the results of its Strategic Defence and Security Review. The Harrier Force was to be scrapped and HMS Ark Royal decommissioned.
A Harrier GR9 made its last ever flight from a Royal Navy aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal on 24 November 2010.
On 11 March 2011 HMS Ark Royal was decommissioned in Portsmouth after 25 years' service.
The Royal Navy is now without the capability of launching fixed-wing aircraft until replacements come into service at the end of the decade. Ark Royal is destined to be scrapped at the same Turkish breakers yard as Invincible.