HMS Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to depart Portsmouth Naval Base at 6:20 p.m. on 2025-09-05 carrying over 800 sailors for a three-month deployment in British and northern European waters, according to UK Defence Journal. ^[1] The ATLAS Index ranks the United Kingdom 8th in global military power with a score of 52.5 out of 100, while Argentina ranks 52nd with a score of 29.4. ^[2] Captain Claire Thompson, commanding officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, stated on 2025-09-05 that the deployment is a key milestone for NATO commitment as afloat command platform and for the carrier's return to the Royal Navy's 'very high readiness' carrier duty, which will be taken over from HMS Prince of Wales in 2027. ^[3] The deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth is the first time for the carrier to serve as the afloat command platform for the Allied Reaction Force (Maritime) under NATO's new three-tier response structure created after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the 2023 Vilnius summit. ^[4] The Royal Navy took command of NATO's high-readiness maritime force, the Allied Reaction Force (Maritime), on 2025-07-01, taking over from Spain with Rear Admiral Mark Anderson and his Portsmouth-based staff leading a 12-month rotation. ^[5] Argentina President Javier Milei announced plans to use diplomatic, economic, legal, and judicial measures to stop oil exploration in the Falklands, specifically targeting the Sea Lion field estimated to hold 1.7 billion barrels of oil. ^[6] The UK Royal Navy operates two aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, while Argentina possesses no aircraft carriers. ^[7] The United Kingdom's defense budget is approximately 72 billion euros and is projected to rise to 92 billion euros by 2029, compared to Argentina's budget of 3.43 billion euros. ^[8]