An F-35 fighter jet will fly over Edinburgh today as hundreds of sailors from HMS Queen Elizabeth parade through the city centre.
Around 250 members of the aircraft carrier’s crew will march along the Royal Mile this morning (Friday 18 September) as they exercise the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh.
An F-35 Lightning is expected to perform a flypast over the capital shortly after 10.30am as part of the ceremony.
The sailors, wearing ceremonial uniform, will be accompanied by the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines Scotland.
The parade will set off from the Palace of Holyroodhouse before travelling up the Royal Mile to the City Chambers.
The ship’s company will then be inspected by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh before speeches are delivered.
The sailors will continue towards St Giles’ Cathedral, where they will salute the Lord Provost and HMS Queen Elizabeth’s commanding officer Captain Claire Thompson.
The event will affect travel through parts of Edinburgh city centre, with tour bus services among those being diverted between 9am and 11.30am because of the parade.
Sections of the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier were constructed at shipyards across the UK, including on the Clyde and at Rosyth, before the huge vessel was assembled at Rosyth dockyard in Fife.
The late Queen Elizabeth II formally named the carrier at Rosyth in July 2014, when a bottle of Islay whisky was smashed against its hull instead of the champagne traditionally used at ship naming ceremonies.
The 65,000-tonne ship is one of two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and is among the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy.
It is designed to operate F-35B Lightning jets, which can take off using the carrier’s distinctive ski-jump ramp and land vertically on its flight deck.
HMS Queen Elizabeth left Portsmouth earlier this month to begin a major programme of training around the UK and northern Europe.
More than 800 sailors are involved in the three-month programme, which will include training with NATO allies as the carrier prepares to return to a high-readiness role.
The ship took on a NATO command role for the Allied Response Force earlier this year and is due to take over from sister ship HMS Prince of Wales as the UK’s high-readiness strike carrier in 2027.