UK’s aircraft carrier returns to sea HMS Queen Elizabeth may leave for Indo-Pacific in 2024. Adm. Ben Key, the UK’s First Sea Lord, said recently that the fleet looks ahead to a time when the air wings of both the navy’s aircraft carriers are made up entirely of uncrewed aircraft. Even a few years ago, that might have seemed far-fetched. Today, the technology to make it possible is all available now. The British military leads the world in remotely piloted aircraft systems and it’s poised to pull even further ahead.