Lusty Geordie lass, 29. Vital statistics 686, 118, 25. Been in the wars. In Scotland for nip and tuck. Seeks TLC

The Tyneside-built vessel sailed under the Forth bridges and docked at Crombie, in Fife, where preparatory work will be carried out before the full-scale refurbishment.

The maintenance and upgrade programme will get under way at Rosyth Dockyard in March.

The Ministry of Defence said the contract with Babcock would provide employment for about 300 people over the next 18 months.

Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy sailed out to welcome the ship, which is 686ft long, 118ft wide and has a draught of 25ft, as it headed up the Firth of Forth yesterday morning. He also met apprentices who will work on the carrier.

During his visit, Mr Murphy said the MoD contract was a boost to the Scottish economy.

"UK defence contracts provide vital skilled work to companies in Scotland and have generated a welcome resurgence in our Scottish shipbuilding industry," he said. "It's heartening to see businesses – some of them small family-owned firms – with full order books, able to take on young apprentices and give them a real future.

"It's amazing to think that in just a decade eight navy ships have been launched on the Clyde and an incredible 45 ships have undergone maintenance and refit at Rosyth, all work worth billions of pounds for Scotland's economy.

"Aircraft carriers have a crucial role within the armed forces and on operations worldwide, so these upgrades are part of the government's strategy to ensure we have the best people, the best equipment and capabilities to meet modern-day defence challenges."

A veteran vessel, HMS Illustrious has participated in most major UK and Nato campaigns since it was commissioned in Portsmouth in 1982, after its launch in 1981.

The ship was first deployed to the Falklands and over the years operated in the first Gulf war, Sierra Leone and the war in Afghanistan.

This is the second refurbishment the Illustrious has undergone, with a previous refit carried out at Rosyth in 2003 at a cost of 118m. The latest work will involve replacing 500 metres of pipework, 650 valves and all eight exhausts, painting the ship with 540,000 litres of paint and making the vessel more fuel-efficient.

The contract is part of a continuous programme at the dockyard, which will carry the yard up to its next job of assembling two new navy super-carriers.

The two 65,000-tonne vessels, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, will be constructed in sections in shipyards at Portsmouth, Glasgow and Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.

Commodore Charles Stevenson, naval regional commander for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said of the forthcoming refit: "This work will allow HMS Illustrious to continue as a highly flexible strategic defence asset for a number of years."

During the upgrade, HMS Ark Royal will become flagship of the Royal Navy fleet.

MAKING WAVES

• SHIP'S COMPANY: 1,100 people (which includes 384 air group personnel)

• DISPLACEMENT: 20,000 tonnes

• LENGTH: 210 metres – as long as 23 double-decker buses

• BEAM: 36 metres

• SPEED: 28 knots

• ARMAMENT: 3 x Goalkeeper anti-missile cannon

• AIRCRAFT: a mix of Harrier GR7s and GR9s, Sea Kings, Merlins and Chinooks, depending on the ship's role.

• FLIGHT DECK: approximately the size of two football pitches