HMS Prince of Wales (R09) will depart its homeport in Portsmouth on April 22 and deploy as the lead ship in the U.K. Carrier Strike Group 2025 to the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific, the U.K. Ministry of Defence announced Tuesday.
The last time the U.K. deployed a carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific was in 2021, which was led by aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08).
Upon departing Portsmouth, the carrier will proceed to join a formation of warships, supply ships and aircraft off the coast of Cornwall and head to the Mediterranean. The carrier strike group will initially be placed under NATO command for Exercise Neptune Strike, testing the alliance’s ability to use high-end maritime strike capabilities, including multiple aircraft carrier and amphibious strike groups. The strike group will then transit the Indian Ocean, conducting exercises and port visits with partners including the U.S., India, Singapore and Malaysia, before joining 19 partner nations for Exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia, training alongside the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and conducting a port visit to India, according to the release.
Around 2,500 personnel from the Royal Navy (RN) and 592 from the Royal Air Force (RAF) will be involved in the eight-month deployment and joined by around 900 personnel from the British Army for exercises during the deployment.
“The deployment, named Operation Highmast, provides an opportunity for the UK’s Armed Forces to conduct a major global deployment and a chance to exercise complex operations alongside partners and allies in the region, with 12 other nations supporting the deployment with ships or personnel,” reads the release.
Norway will provide a warship for the deployment, while Canada and Spain will contribute ships for the strike group. The release did not say what other nine countries will support the deployment.
The release also did not include what other ships will make up the carrier strike group, although the U.K. is deploying destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33), a Type 23 frigate, an Astute-clss nuclear-powered attack submarine and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary fleet oiler.
Canada’s Ministry of National Defence announced Monday that frigate HMCS Ville de Québec (FFH332) departed Halifax to join the strike group off the coast of Europe and will proceed with it to the Indo-Pacific as part of Operation Horizon, the Canadian Armed Forces’ presence operation in the Indo-Pacific.
“HMCS Ville de Québec will sail tens of thousands of kilometers while deployed on Operation HORIZON, Canada’s forward-presence mission to the Indo-Pacific region to promote peace, stability, and the rules-based international order,” reads the release, which indicated that Ville de Québec will integrate into the strike group for some phases but will also detach at other times during the deployment to carry out national taskings.
Norway will deploy frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen (F311) for the entire deployment while fleet oiler fleet oiler HNoMS Maud (A530) will support the strike group during part of the deployment. Spain has not issued any official statement, but it is likely a Spanish Navy frigate will integrate with strike group while it is operating in the Mediterranean.
Up to 24 F-35B Lightning II fighters from the “Dambusters” of RAF Squadron 617 and the “Phoenix” of Naval Air Squadron 809 will embark with the carrier strike group, according to the U.K. release. Merlin Mk2 antisubmarine warfare helicopters from Naval Air Squadron 820 will deploy on the carrier with Naval Air Squadron 812 deployed on the CSG’s escorts and Wildcat helicopters of 815 NAS on its escorts.
The strike group will also test the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to transfer supplies between ships during the deployment with nine Malloy T-150 octo-copters of Naval Air Squadron 700X initially deploying among three ships of the strike group, according to a Royal Navy release. The T-150 has an endurance of between 20 to 40 minutes, top speed of 60mph and is able to lift up to 68kg, according to the release.
The strike group will transit through the Red Sea during its voyage to the Indo-Pacific and its return. It is not clear whether it will participate in ongoing U.S. strike operations against the Houthis in Yemen. Its escorts have drilled against attacks by UAVs and missiles. Dauntless carried out a live-fire exercise, called Exercise Sharpshooter, combatting aerial and surface drone swarms with the destroyer fending off hundreds of Banshee aerial drones, Hammerhead unmanned surface vehicles and virtual drone attacks as part of a scenario customised to mimic real-world threats, according to a Royal Navy release.
Dauntless used its Phalanx Close-in Weapon Systems (CIWS), 4.5inch and 30mm Guns, as well as an embarked Wildcat helicopter using Martlet missiles, to engage its targets. Wildcat helicopters of Naval Air Squadron 815 also conducted drills in air defense against drones in Exercise Talon Strike as part of their deployment training. The helicopters used Martlet missiles against Banshee drones operated by NAS 700X, according to an Royal Navy release.
In Norway, Roald Amundsen carried out a firing exercise with its Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) surface-to-air missile and also tested its Counter Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS),
“This is important training and verification to ensure that we are prepared to handle current threats in various domains when we are to be part of the aircraft carrier force and force protection of HMS Prince of Wales,” said Commander Daniel Thomassen, squadron commander,1st Frigate Squadron, in an Norwegian Armed Force release. “This type of training is always important, but now there is an extra focus on preparing both the vessel and the crew for the operation they will carry out in other waters and parts of the world than where we normally are.”
