London: The British military's aerial display team and the Royal Navy, which was recently maligned by Donald Trump, will soon visit the US to mark 250 years of American independence, the UK government said Sunday.
The Royal Air Force's Red Arrows will in June embark on a one-month "showcase tour" of the United States, while an unspecified number of navy ships will head there later this month, it announced.
It comes despite US President Trump and his defence secretary Pete Hegseth making a series of disparaging comments about Britain's navy in recent months.
Trump labelled the UK's two aircraft carriers "toys" and quipped the country did not "even have a navy", while Hegseth sarcastically referred to it as the "big, bad Royal Navy".
That followed Prime Minister Keir Starmer's refusal to join offensive operations in the US-Israeli war in the Middle East and reluctance to allow American forces to use British military bases to attack Iran.
The ceremonial military deployments will come just weeks after King Charles III's four-day US state visit, which was hailed as a success and boost to the under-strain so-called "special relationship".
The Royal Navy ships will visit New Orleans later this month, according to Britain's defence ministry.
They will then attend a major commemorative maritime event -- the US Navy's "International Naval Review 250" -- in the port of New York and New Jersey in July.
The Red Arrows team will deliver a series of "spectacular displays" at 13 events across New York, Washington, Wisconsin, Maine, Maryland and Michigan between June 27 and July 26, commemorating the 1776 independence anniversary.
On July 4 -- celebrated annually in the US as Independence Day -- the red jets will participate in a major international flypast over New York, performing in front of tens of thousands of expected spectators, the ministry added.
"We're honoured to accept the US military's invitation for the Red Arrows to participate in these special July 4 events in the country's 250th year," Vice-Marshal Mark Jackson said in a statement.
"The Royal Air Force has a long, proud history of working side-by-side with the Armed Forces of the United States, whether that be on operations and exercises or by joining with other allies as part of NATO," he added.
"I hope the Red Arrows' trademark combination of close formation flying, speed and world-class precision will excite and inspire the hundreds of thousands of people attending these shows."
