
The Royal Navy's biggest ever ship could miss its launch date due to a number of technical problems.

The new £3billion super-carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is being completed in Rosyth, Scotland.

A launch date of May 29, in Portsmouth, was earmarked by the vessel's main contractor First Sea Lord Admiral Sir George Zambellas.

Workers are demanding overtime but unions and the builders have yet to reach an agreement.

The Royal Navy's biggest ever ship could miss its launch date due to a number of technical problems. Pictured is how the ship will look when it is complete

HMS Queen Elizabeth - which is 72,000 tons and 932 feet long - has been described as the most 'potent' conventional weapon against Islamic State

Engineers are also struggling to finish vital checks to equipment on the ship and there are problems with dredging Portsmouth Harbour, according to the Sunday Express

Engineers are also struggling to finish vital checks to equipment on the ship and there are problems with dredging Portsmouth Harbour, according to the Sunday Express.

HMS Queen Elizabeth - which is 72,000 tons and 932 feet long - has been described as the most 'potent' conventional weapon against Islamic State.

This year it will deploy for sea trials before most likely heading to the Gulf, where it will take the most advanced stealth fighter jet in the world - the F-35B Lightening II jet - to the fight.

Sir George told a dinner of 300 official guests: 'I can tell you that the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth will be on May 29, 2017.

'Put it in your diaries, it will be a day to remember. We will make sure this is a major event.'

The Queen and new US President Donald Trump are expected to attend the launch.

But due to the problems a senior naval officer told the newspaper: 'The date that the QE arrives is a major issue. No one is allowed to discuss it. We were working on May 29, but I sense that this has slipped and that will be hugely embarrassing for us.'

An MoD spokesman said: HMS Queen Elizabeth will be ready to conduct sea trials in summer and debut in Portsmouth later this year as planned.'

The vessel's warplanes will deploy 'deep into Iraq' but the formidable aircraft carrier will also be able to drop Royal Marines on the beaches in Libya and send Apache helicopters to take out targets.

As the F-35 jet bombs bunkers and hideouts on land, the carrier will use its radar to track objects the size of snooker balls 20km away, and can fire its defensive machine guns at 6,000 rounds per minute to destroy incoming threats.

The carrier, along with its sister ship HMS Prince of Wales, is part of a £6.2billion project to allow the UK to help other nations 'police the world'.

Last year, Captain Simon Petitt told the Daily Mail: 'It is about stopping wars rather than starting them. If someone does want to start a war I think they might think twice if they see one of these ships coming over the horizon

Each carrier can deploy up to 36 Lightning II aircraft - but Britain will have only one squadron of F-35s to fly off HMS Queen Elizabeth - about 16 jets - when it enters service in 2020

By 2023, the Ministry of Defence has committed to having 24 of the jets in service - which will be tasked with obliterating UK enemies with laser-guided missiles and bombs

Last year, Captain Simon Petitt told the Daily Mail: 'It is about stopping wars rather than starting them. If someone does want to start a war I think they might think twice if they see one of these ships coming over the horizon.

'We have never seen these ships before. It will change the way the navy does its business.

'It is all part of taking your place in the world, the policing of the world.'

Each carrier can deploy up to 36 Lightning II aircraft - but Britain will have only one squadron of F-35s to fly off HMS Queen Elizabeth - about 16 jets - when it enters service in 2020.

This has led to claims that when the second carrier comes into service 18 months later it would be a 'gigantic white elephant' - with no UK assets to fly off it.

By 2023, the Ministry of Defence has committed to having 24 of the jets in service - which will be tasked with obliterating UK enemies with laser-guided missiles and bombs.