HMS Prince of Wales arrived in Darwin Harbour, marking the first visit to Australia by a Royal Navy aircraft carrier in nearly three decades.
The Queen Elizabeth-class vessel is leading the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG) as part of Operation Highmast, an eight-month Indo-Pacific deployment involving 4,500 British personnel. The flagship is also spearheading the UK’s involvement in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, Australia’s largest military exercise, which brings together 35,000 personnel from 19 countries across air, land, sea, cyber and space domains.
🚢🇦🇺 HMS Prince of Wales arrives in Darwin, the first Royal Navy carrier visit to Australia in over 25 years. The UK’s flagship joins #TalismanSabre as part of Operation Highmast, strengthening Indo-Pacific ties and allied interoperability. pic.twitter.com/xXCuMbyMj7
— UK Defence Journal (@UKDefJournal) July 23, 2025
As HMS Prince of Wales entered port, she was met by water cannon salutes from Australian tugs before her crew took part in a traditional Welcome to Country ceremony led by the Larrakia people, custodians of the Darwin region.
The visit is the first by a Royal Navy aircraft carrier since HMS Illustrious arrived in Fremantle during the 1997 Ocean Wave deployment. The return of a British flattop underscores growing defence cooperation between the UK and Australia and reflects London’s broader tilt toward the Indo-Pacific.
During recent operations off northern Australia, HMS Prince of Wales worked alongside the USS George Washington carrier strike group in a show of allied naval firepower. The carrier has also hosted US Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys, ahead of further USMC integration later in the deployment, including F-35B operations.
Talisman Sabre 2025 continues into August, with UK forces exercising alongside partners across Australia and Papua New Guinea. The strike group is expected to continue east through the Pacific, with further stops and exercises planned throughout the region.
The Ministry of Defence describes Operation Highmast as a demonstration of collective resolve, deterrence, and British industrial capability. Of the 4,500 UK personnel involved, 2,500 are Royal Navy and Royal Marines, joined by 900 British Army personnel and 600 from the Royal Air Force.
It’s cool to see 4 USMC F-35Bs aboard.
There’s only only one USMC F35B onboard from USS America.
There are definitely 4 USMC jets on deck. There are two near the 3 spot, one near the 1 spot, and one is third from the bow. You might have to find an overhead shot, but they are there.
Assume I’m ignorant — a fairly safe bet generally. Where are the one spot and the three spot?
Also worth noting that the F35 stranded in India is now back with the carrier.
The Nazis invaded France and took Paris faster than an F‑35 can be repaired…
#SlowIsSmoothSmoothIsFast
JJ. If you knew anything about carrier aviation. You would know many a Super Hornet, F18A, F14, Prowler, Seanight, Seaking, Phantom, Harriers, Rafale, Super Etendard and many more types have been stranded for days or weeks at many airfields around the globe over the decades. This is a classic Internet story. So people who don’t have a clue about the complexities of carrier aviation can make cheap gags and share uninformed opinions because it’s the first time they have heard of this happening. Fast jets are extremely complex. And even a relatively simple jet like a Hawk T1 can be offline for weeks when you have complex hydraulic issues to diagnose and fix. It’s not the first,
and it won’t be the last. Better to be safe at a foreign airfield than ditching in the sea.
Rob, fair points—let’s not fall out over the French side of things. They aren’t worth it…
👍
Which Hawk unit were you with? Hawk hydraulics were pretty reliable in my experience. Also pretty easy to fix. Spare parts weren’t a problem
That’s a pretty impressive CV you have there Robert, I doff my hat to you and your first hand experience of so many different aircraft.
Hope you enjoyed the Airshow as I did.
Did you smell the Il 78 of the Pakistani AF, it absolutely stunk, any idea what fuel they run it on ?
We had a great day at Fairford thanks Mixed weather, but it didn’t seem to affect the flying display to much. The Spanish Typhoon was very impressive. Didn’t get a wif of the fuel. But I could well imagine. I only worked with Sea Harrier FA2’s and Harrier GR7/9s. They are all just as challenging to maintain. The old F14s were apparently a nightmare to maintain for the US Navy. One reason why they got rid of them back in 2006.
On the basis you worked on FA2’s and GR7/9s, I would suggest we have mutual friends.
My respect to you and please forgive my previous antagonistic comments.
“It’s a small World”.
Yeah but how long did it take us to get Spitfires to Australia? Indeed the first lot were confiscated for the Middle East on the way.
…I was a bit shocked at how badly the Spit Mk. V performed there: tactics, Constant Speed Unit failure, cannon jams, short range. Hopefully if the Chinese kick off against AUS, the UK and Commonwealth will do all we can to help, and hopefully pre-position aircraft to help defend the North Australia region. Long range aircraft will be crucial. Tempests for the Aussies anybody?
Given the current state of play with our American cousins, I suspect the Aussies would be welcomed with open arms if they wanted to join the Tempest project.
I would suggest we have a brilliant Team as it is already and I’d welcome Australia as a potential buyer but let’s just get on with it now.
Tempest appears to be the right aircraft at the right time, lets make the most of it.
That’s only because France couldn’t surrender fast enough. You’d have thought with an army of 4 million men in the field they could have put up a bit of a better show of resistance.
Fantastic to see such a powerful sight, wall to wall fast air and no doubt another 18 in the hanger.
I’m no “Naval Architect” 👀 but even this Halfwit can appreciate all the hard effort that has gone in to get us to this point.
God bless her and all who sail on her.
Great to see the lone wolf returned safely back on board. Hope the Vindaloo was up to par with the BIR style stuff.
I was worried this was going to be a damp squid following all the early rumours of planes returning to the UK before Suez, but it’s working up nicely now. Serves me right for taking heed of the rumour mill.
or squib even… most squid being damp from the outset!
Indeed !
Apparently another 6 will be joining her on the way back from Akrotiri for an exercise in the Med. Then many will return home.
Ahh, that would give us the 24 that were often mentioned prior to heading off.
I wonder if that would still include the 4 USMC aircraft ?
24 is a pretty damned decent load either way one looks at it.
Know worries, pal. That’s the plan. 24 for the last exercise of the deployment, then they all head home. I was at Yeovilton then RAF Cottesmore Joint Force Harrier.
Would be nice if the USMC could keep a few jets onboard so we could get a few photoshots of more than 24 jets onboard.
Even now however the old comments about aircraft carriers with no aircraft now seem distinctly daft- there is no other carrier in the world at this time with more 5th gen stealth aircraft deployed.
OK, yes then you’ll deffo know some people, A good mate was RN then Serco then Honeywell (F35) Yeovilton, Wittering and Cottesmore at various times, got another friend on F35B’s ground crew and a few more that I have lost touch with now. Not my line of work, just friends met along the way. I won’t go in to detail but I had an unhealthy interest in Nuclear war and it’s aftermath,prepping, planning and “Cough”, survival !. Luckily I now live near enough to some “First Strike Targets” FST’s are the place to be !
Robert, do you know of any attempts to catapult launch
a Sea Harrier or AV-8B for a extra load-out? Giving the RN or USMC the best of both worlds, of maximise load-out CAT launches, and safer Vertical or SRVL landings, instead of risky arrested landings with CATOBAR aircraft?
Meirion X, as I read it, I thought about it.
RN haven’t had Cats for 4 decades and no Harriers for 15 years, any attempts to Cat launch a Harrier would probably have not ended well without a serious redesign of the landing gear and the structural architecture due to the huge stresses caused during the launch itself.
I guess that’s part of the reason the “Jump Jet” was designed for non cat launches in the first place.
My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that a Sea Typhoon and Tempest would have been a good option for our two ooje Carriers rather than just the F35B.
I’m sure that Robert will know way more than me though.
Its a great sight. Pretty jam packed. You can only imagine all of this being in the air all at once and armed!
I’m no naval architect either but I’d like to see more defensive armament on these carriers, as would many here. Even a couple of 40mm, Ancilia and maybe CAMM silos rear port sponson. Good weather up in Darwin by the looks of it.
Hope the carrier can visit Sydney. 🚢 🇦🇺 🇬🇧
*rear starboard sponson
The T45 is its best defensive weapon. And those 19 5th gen F35s.
CAMM definitely.
Chances of hitting an inbound aimed at you are much, much higher than downing one aimed at your buddy.
I’ve waited a long time to see this picture. Really impressive. A real carrier with real aircraft. Let’s hope it is the forerunner of many more deployments.
Wonderful sight! Now it would be really nice if on her return she and her Escorts would skip that dangerous Suez Canal and head round the Cape with a stopover in Durban. It is more than 50 years since we saw carriers HMS Eagle and I think the Bulwark, in Durban Harbour!(not at the same time) Also the last time we had an RN ship here was when HMS Enterprise pulled in about 15 years ago. there is a story attached to that but I won’t repeat it as Daniele has heard it about a dozen times 🙂
Any chance you could repeat it please, not all of us might have heard it. I love a good story.
Hello. OK HW(Daniele block your eyes) I was training in a racing kayak K2 with a friend on the Durban Bay and we spied a Naval ship parked at the T Jetty which i thought could be Royal Navy! At first I thought it was an OPV but as we paddled closer I recognised it as HMS Enterprise and was really happy to see the return of one of Her Majesty’s ships in our Last Outpost of the British Empire. We approached right up to the Able Seaman manning watch, weapon in hand, under the Jackstaff. I engaged him in conversation and he replied in suitably vague but not unfriendly tones as to their destination out of port. Next minute, a fast patrol boat manned by Harbour Police charged right up to us loudspeaker blaring and guns at the ready to warn us to leave the area immediately. These were the new breed of law enforcers in SA and certainly would have either arrested us or worse still if they saw us as a threat to the ship. Fortunately they sussed us as two sixty something greyhead ” Mlungus ” and allowed us to retreat post haste and tails between legs 🙂
Mlungu is a Zulu word meaning white man.Cheers for now
If the CSG circumnavigates Australia, erasing the recent memory of PLAN ships doing exactly this, then they can head back home via SA!
Hopefully they’ll visit Sydney on the way through.
Visit Sidney finally, then Japan visit next! Return home Easterly through the Panama Canal?
Never get tired of that story, my friend.
There will be plenty who have not heard it, after it’s tenth telling!
😃
That would be perfect Quentin. They would have to come up and away from that stormy southern ocean and head straight to Durbs and then round to the Cape and home!
Ah you are too kind Daniele 🙂 Chat over weekend
Haha, thanks, I bet you had a “Touching Cloth” moment !
I now have images of the “Cockleshell Heroes” in my head.
Not quite as dramatic as the cockleshell heroes and in broad daylight but still character building 🙂
Ah bugger, I find out it’s now they’ve docked and I’m 3000km away. Please come to Sydney!
Great to see the vision of it, such memories of seeing RN carriers in Fremantle.
Also its occurred while Australia and Britain have signed a 50 year defence treaty! Great stuff.
Hope the crew has a great shore leave, Darwin weather is great during the Dry (winter). Well done UK Carrier Strike group.