Watch: Rare sight of F-35s on HMS Queen Elizabeth's flight deck in Portsmouth

Royal Navy flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth remains alongside in Portsmouth with eight of her F-35 jets lined up on the flight deck.

The £3bn aircraft carrier returned to her home base on Sunday evening, having spent time deployed in northern European waters with her Nato and Joint Expeditionary Force allies.

In an unusual sight, the F-35B Lightnings embarked on the carrier remained on her flight deck as she returned to Portsmouth Naval Base.

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Footage shot by Forces News shows eight of the advanced jets still lined up on HMS Queen Elizabeth's 280m-long flight deck.

A Royal Navy spokesperson said the carrier's stop back home would only be brief.

"HMS Queen Elizabeth has returned to port for a logistics stop and a short period of maintenance," they said.

The news comes as HMS Queen Elizabeth's sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, continues trials with American F-35s off the east coast of the United States.

The world's first F-35 night-time shipborne rolling vertical landing was recently made on the vessel.