Royal Marine Commandos have been pictured fast-roping from a Merlin Mk4 helicopter onto the flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales, as part of ongoing operations under the UK-led Carrier Strike Group deployment, Operation Highmast.
The training, conducted on 11 June during the group’s transit through the Red Sea, involved personnel from 42 Commando and 845 Naval Air Squadron. The exercise demonstrated the UK’s capability to deploy forces rapidly from the air in high-tempo maritime environments.
The Merlin and Wildcat helicopters, operated by Commando Helicopter Force, hovered above the aircraft carrier while Marines descended by rope to the deck. The technique, used when helicopters cannot land, allows for rapid insertion of personnel and is commonly employed in boarding operations and amphibious missions.
The UK Carrier Strike Group, led by HMS Prince of Wales, is currently on an eight-month Indo-Pacific deployment involving warships and personnel from more than a dozen allied nations. The task group includes Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond, and Spanish Navy frigate Méndez Núñez, among others.
Known as Operation Highmast, the deployment is intended to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to regional security and defence cooperation across the Mediterranean, Middle East and Pacific Rim. According to the Ministry of Defence, it also serves to promote British trade, industry, and diplomatic ties.
More than 4,500 British personnel are taking part in the operation, including 2,500 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines, nearly 900 British Army troops, and around 600 Royal Air Force personnel. Fast-roping exercises like the one conducted this week are part of wider preparations for joint exercises with regional partners in the coming months.
The aircraft carrier’s air group includes F-35B Lightning jets from 617 Squadron and 809 Naval Air Squadron, supported by Merlin and Wildcat helicopters. These assets are providing a mixture of air defence, strike capability, intelligence gathering and logistical support throughout the deployment.
Photographs of the training, released by the Ministry of Defence, capture the moment Royal Marines descended onto the carrier’s deck against the backdrop of Red Sea operations. The images, taken by Petty Officer Photographer James Clarke, highlight the scale and ambition of the UK’s flagship deployment in 2025.
Fast Roping is great fun, but pictures rarely do justice for just how high up you fast rope from. The trainer gantries are 10m/30ft which is plenty high enough, but helicopters can let blokes fast rope from more than double that height.
Indeed.
I wonder if they use a mechanically engaged air brake now…..like is used to decelerate lifts as a safety device…..they can be set quite accurately for a maximum velocity…..obvs you can still control slower with the old school legs and boots stuff……
Quite useful as you free hands for weapons….
Not really. Fast rope is hand held, and unlikely to change. The risk is to the cab, more than the soldier, so the faster you get a stack out the better. Grab, positive exit, descend. If absolutely necessary the crew can drop rope while blokes are still descending.
Mechanical brakes or anything like that would require a hook on which increases time faffing about in the cab, meaning slower descent time over all, even if an individual descent is faster (and even then I don’t think you’re moving much faster, certainly you’re not going to be hitting much if you fire, more turning 5.56 into noise). Then when you land your back in the faffing about disconnecting, instead of just letting go.
Basically mechanical brakes are used for loads that can’t hold on themselves either bc they are inanimate or because they’re not fast rope trained. Everyone who can uses hands as that’s faster overall.
Thanks for the info.
I agree when I had seen it done first hand it was always manual/leg/boot descent braking.
I totally agree that covering fires are best from the cab and not from the guys on the rope as you cannot deal with the reactive forces from the weapon.
I’d seen it used for loads in a test ages ago and just wondered if it had crossed into troop usage!
Tbh I suspect if you need covering fires at all the crew in the cab will either cut the rope or give an emergency lock off signal to the descending troops and fly off.
Never done it personally but pretty sure your hands and feet are needed to grip and loosen to control the descent whilst you weapons and pack are worn or dangled below.
“Hands on not hands free”.
What SB is talking about is there are specific devices that the rope is threaded through that act as brakes, and can have kit attached to it, so you can descend hands free and boots free, in theory, with one of those. But while the actual descent is pretty fast setting the device up takes time(and detaching from it), and is a bit if a niche skill, so usually hands and boots it is.
Oh, like rock climbers and people who descend from tall buildings ? Attached with carabinas and such.
That would scare the crap out of me.
“Hanging by a thread”.
Yes, think of a much beefier version of those (you can see in the articles pictures just how thick a fast rope actually is). Then you dangle either kit (more frequently) or people (much less frequently) from it by attaching them with heavy duty carabiners as you said.
Frankly scares the crap out of me too, I’d much rather fast rope under my own control (and even that, from 20m up with 30kg of kit is a bit bum-clenchy).
Frnech tested i think one year ago parachuting into their carrier.
UK tested that in ‘82 cue soggy SF….
“Into” ? as in actually in through a suitable opening ?
“Bugger that for a game of soldiers”.
Great practice for raiding large ships but what did they do with all the Aircraft cluttering up the deck ?
“I’m not allowed to say how many”.
all twelve were snuggling up in the hangar.
Still no sign or mention of the promised 24 yet. Maybe in another 10 years ?
Did you count them all back though?
Can’t say, Top secret, hush hush, it’s on a need to know basis.
“I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you”.
If you married me though, I might let it slip at night, when I’m asleep but please tell me you don’t really have a beard, I’m a bit particular about my ladies ?
Are needed.
1 LPH
2 LPD,s
At least but this far left government a lot of words about increasing capabilities and defence spending but nothing ordered at the moment.
Bla bla bla
Hmm why is this even a thing.?
Hardly a slow news day
Personally, I like this site for all the stuff you don’t get to see on mainstreem TV and other news sorces and to be honest, it’s way more accurate than them.
“Here is the BBC weather, today it’s going to be wet, dry, damp, windy, sunny, freezing, boiling hot, misty, humid, woke and gender neutral”. and in other news, Tracey plastic bit’s leaves celebrity love island in tears after breaking a nail, a national day of mourning has been declared in Essex.