THE HMS Queen Elizabeth has been pulled from a Nato mission at last minute after an "issue" with the aircraft carrier was found.
The Royal Navy flagship was set to depart on Sunday evening for the largest Nato exercise in Europe since the Cold War.
However, routine checks found an issue with a coupling on HMS Queen Elizabeth’s starboard propeller shaft.
The aircraft carrier has been replaced with HMS Prince of Wales for the mission.
READ MORE: HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives in Scotland for logistics stop
Fleet Cdr Vice Adm Andrew Burns said: "Routine pre-sailing checks yesterday identified an issue with a coupling on HMS Queen Elizabeth's starboard propeller shaft. As such, the ship will not sail on Sunday.
"HMS Prince of Wales will take her place on Nato duties and will set sail for Exercise Steadfast Defender as soon as possible."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The issue identified is with the ship's shaft couplings. The ship's propeller shafts are too big to be made from a single piece of metal so each shaft is made from three sections, which are connected using shaft couplings, which bind the shaft sections together."
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