Briggs Defence is supplying a customised materials handling solution for the Royal Navy's new carrier fleet.

Following the completion of post-handover engineering activities, the Royal Navy's flagship aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will embark on front-line operations, equipped with specially modified materials handling equipment supplied by Briggs Defence.

The largest and most powerful warship in Britain's illustrious naval history, the state-of-the-art carrier is 280 m in length and has been built at six shipyards across the UK.

Among the ship's inventory are counterbalance forklifts and powered pallet trucks and telehandlers, all supplied as part of a contract between the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) project team at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Briggs Defence.

The contract also includes the supply of a ride-on scrubber drier for cleaning critical areas of the ship including the flight deck, and mobile elevated working platforms for ship maintenance activities, demonstrating Briggs Defence's ability to deliver a fully integrated equipment solution.

Gary Clements of Briggs Defence says: "As well as supplying equipment with a proven track record when it comes to performance and reliability in demanding environments, our remit also includes operator and maintenance training to enable the crew to service and repair the trucks and equipment while at sea.

"Much of the equipment we are supplying has been customised for use at sea to meet the specific requirements of the DE&S project team, and to fulfil the contract, we have drawn on decades of experience in providing support for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) vessels."

When fully operational, both HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will be equipped with a 14 T diesel counterbalance truck along with two 3 T electric forklifts, two telehandlers, twin-drive electric power pallet trucks, mobile elevated working platforms and scrubber driers.