Unidentified drone shot down over HMS Queen Elizabeth during visit to Sweden
An unidentified drone was shot down over aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth by the Swedish armed forces during the vessel's visit to the country, it has emerged.
The incident happened when the Royal Navy flagship was in Skandia Harbour in Gothenburg for seven days last October.
The visit was part of a cooperation effort between the UK and Sweden, both being members of the Joint Expeditionary Forces.
The aerial device entered the protected airspace over the aircraft carrier, according to the head of operations command in the Swedish armed forces, Carl-Johan Edström.
The Swedish armed forces would not comment on exactly how the drone had been eliminated, but did say there was no indication of any foreign involvement or malicious intent.
The incident is being investigated by the police and Swedish armed forces.
The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.
HMS Queen Elizabeth's deployment to the North Sea in the autumn saw her come under Nato command for the first time.
The carrier arrived back in Portsmouth having travelled nearly 13,000 nautical miles.
Her deployment saw her take part in a mock game of cat-and-mouse with a Norwegian submarine playing the aggressor in the North Sea.
She also pioneered a wide range of health and wellbeing initiatives while deployed to northern Europe with Nato.
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