Speaking at an event ahead of the HMS Queen Elizabeth naming ceremony this Friday, Philip Hammond told more than 200 business leaders that the sector should be proud of its work on the biggest ship ever built for the Royal Navy. HMS Queen Elizabeth is also the biggest ship in Europe and the largest outside the US fleet.

In his speech to the Institute of Directors, the Defence Secretary thanked the tens of thousands of workers who have been involved in constructing the aircraft carrier at shipyards and companies across the UK.

The 65,000-tonne vessel will be christened this week by Her Majesty The Queen during a ceremony at the dockyard in Rosyth, near Edinburgh, where she has been assembled.

Mr Hammond said:

The engineers, designers, steel-cutters, welders, plumbers, electricians, software writers and the many other trades that are required to build complex warships, from Rosyth to Appledore, from the banks of the Clyde to the shores of the Solent; together they have demonstrated what a united Britain can accomplish.

As a warship in service, she will not just be a military capability but a giant floating advertisement for the high calibre of Britain’s manufacturing and industrial base. The Queen Elizabeth will demonstrate that not only can we punch above our weight militarily, but also that we have the skills and ingenuity in this country to rival any in the world.

For half-a-century, she will be an enduring symbol of our commitment to play a leading role on the global stage. Those who have worked on this great vessel should take great pride. They have not just built a new flagship of the Royal Navy, but a flagship for the nation.

During the event, the first commanding officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, Captain Jerry Kyd, was presented with a bottle of Scottish whisky that will be used to christen the vessel on Friday.

The bottle of Islay malt whisky, from the first distillery the Queen visited in 1981, will replace the more traditional champagne, reflecting the fact that the ship has been assembled in Scotland.

Pictures released by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance today show the ramp section, which will allow jet aircraft to take off from the ship, being lowered into place at the shipyard in Rosyth, Scotland, where the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers are being constructed.

The 300-tonne section of ramp, which is 64 metres long and 13 metres wide, is the final exterior piece of the aircraft carrier to be fitted. At its highest point, the take-off ramp is 6 metres above the flight deck, which will allow aircraft to be propelled into the air.

The pictures come on the same day as MOD announces that a fourth Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft has been ordered from Lockheed Martin. The UK has already taken delivery of 3 Lightning II jets and Royal Navy and RAF pilots are training on the aircraft in the USA.

This fourth jet, which is specially designed to be a test aircraft, will help boost the ongoing training available.

Earlier this year, the first take-off at sea by a UK pilot in a Lightning II took place during a week of trials aboard the United States Marine Corps’ amphibious assault ship USS Wasp.

Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, said:

We are on track to ensuring carrier strike capability by 2020. Both the completion of the take-off ramp and the announcement of the contract for the fourth jet show the tremendous progress being made to ensure that the Royal Navy will have a modern carrier force.

Not only are these jets the most advanced ever operated by our armed forces, but the programme is worth over £1 billion to UK industry each year and will support around 25,000 British jobs over the next 25 years.

MOD’s Chief of Materiel (Air), Air Marshal Simon Bollom, said:

The latest contract for the fourth Lightning II means we are a step closer to realising the ambition of having the most advanced fast jets available for the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy to defend our nation’s interests.

Our strong participation in the test and development of the aircraft has shown the potent capability that this fifth-generation fighter delivers.

It represents the cutting-edge of combat aircraft design and will be a tremendous asset for the UK, so we are delighted with the progress the programme is making.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to be structurally complete next year. She will begin her sea trials in 2017 before flight trials with the Lightning II jets get underway in 2018.

As well as operating from the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers, Lightning II will be jointly operated by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy from RAF Marham in Norfolk