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United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group 21
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<p>The United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21) was a British-led naval force that was deployed on Operation Fortis from May to December 2021. The Carrier Strike Group is seen as the beginning of the British Government's tilt towards the Indo-Pacific region in terms of defence and foreign policy, that had been announced in March through the <a href="/facts/Integrated_Review/wyJIyFPl">Integrated Review</a>. It was the first strike group deployment for the <a href="/facts/Queen_Elizabeth-class_aircraft_carrier/ekrgADVl"><i>Queen Elizabeth</i>-class</a> aircraft carriers, and the first operational deployment of the <a href="/facts/UK_Carrier_Strike_Group/ykP0BTxQ">UK Carrier Strike Group</a> since 2011. The deployment was the largest single deployment of <a href="/facts/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning_II/x0NWsvfC">F-35 fighter aircraft</a> since the programme started in 2006, and the largest <a href="/facts/Fifth-generation_fighter/RSWsPdgJ">fifth-generation fighter</a> carrier air wing in the world at the time. Furthermore, <a href="/facts/HMS_Queen_Elizabeth_(R08)/w9YUheMM">HMS <i>Queen Elizabeth</i></a> saw the largest number of personnel embarked since she entered service, and the group contained the largest number of Royal Navy maritime helicopters deployed in over 10 years. </p>