A newly released timelapse video by the Ministry of Defence shows HMS Prince of Wales departing Portsmouth, leading the United Kingdom’s most significant naval deployment of 2025.
Filmed by PO PHOT James Clarke, the sequence captures the precise and poignant moment as the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales—the Royal Navy’s flagship—glides out of Portsmouth Harbour to begin an eight-month Indo-Pacific deployment.
A newly released timelapse video by the Ministry of Defence shows HMS Prince of Wales departing Portsmouth, leading the United Kingdom’s most significant naval deployment of 2025. The video is Crown Copyright 2025 – PO PHOT James Clarke. pic.twitter.com/sW3Cth34ZK
— UK Defence Journal (@UKDefJournal) April 25, 2025
The video, shared with the caption “Portsmouth bids farewell to the Carrier Strike Group as it deploys”, marks the beginning of Operation Highmast, a mission demonstrating UK and allied resolve to ensure freedom of navigation and uphold international security.
In its official deployment statement, the MoD added:
“HMS Prince of Wales left Portsmouth as she prepares to lead an international task force to the Indo-Pacific on an eight-month mission to demonstrate UK and allied collective resolve and determination to maintain security and freedom from the Atlantic to the Pacific.”
The Carrier Strike Group, which includes vessels and aircraft from the UK, Norway, Canada, and other allied nations, will operate across multiple regions, from the Mediterranean and Middle East to Southeast Asia, Japan, and Australia.
The mission is designed to deepen military cooperation, enhance interoperability, and project stability in contested regions.
The video is © Crown Copyright 2025 – Ministry of Defence / PO James Clarke.
Wasting our money on things that don’t concern us again?, all while pretending to defend us again?.
Dishonest war dogs have zero honour and disgust me to the core.
Super video
Goodness, what a lot the MOD is making of this deployment! In the press! The leitmotif seems to be Great Britain projects naval power to make our adversaries quake.
The reality is that we can only provide 2 of the 5 destroyer and frigate escorts needed to protect the carrier and one of the two auxiliaries needed to refuel and replenish the group. At least there will be an Astute with her, which is a much more potent threat to adversaries that the CSG.
The F35B is a rather short-range strike fighter with a very limited weapon loadout, doubt it will strike much fear into the Chinese PLAN. It is good that we have some NATO allies making up some of the shortfall in escorts and auxiliaries and the right thing to do to reinforce freedom of passage in the SCS. We equally need to be honest that we can only risk doing so thanks to the presence of powerful US naval assets in the area.
It all seems rather token and a bit of a national feelgood photo op, but is far from a demonstration of any real power projection.
May all components of CSG25 enjoy “Fair winds and Following Seas.” 🤞🤞😊🇬🇧 🇳🇴🇪🇸
You forgot to add the Benny Hill theme music to the video 😏
Watched her depart.
I suffer to convince myself of the need for this event. We have conflict in Europe, conflict in the Middle East, Trump threatening to withdraw from NATO and remove /reduce forces in Europe and we send a significant force to the far side of the world. Does not seem very logical.
To demonstrate that we can.
We are a global nation with global interests, allies, treaties, and friends.
This may only happen once every 4 years or so, so good to see.