Keir Starmer has confirmed that the UK will deploy its Carrier Strike Group to the North Atlantic and High North regions later this year, with HMS Prince of Wales set to lead the deployment.
The Prime Minister said the carrier will operate alongside the United States, Canada and other NATO allies, describing the deployment as “a powerful show of our commitment to Euro-Atlantic security.”
The announcement places the Royal Navy’s flagship at the centre of a renewed focus on the High North, a region increasingly framed by NATO as strategically critical amid heightened Russian military activity and competition over Arctic routes and infrastructure.
Starmer also linked the move to wider European deterrence efforts, saying it was part of the UK’s commitment to NATO security. “That is also why we’re enhancing our nuclear cooperation with France,” he said.
He added: “For decades, the United Kingdom has been the only nuclear power in Europe to commit its deterrent to protect all NATO members.”
HMS Prince of Wales, commissioned in 2019, is one of the Royal Navy’s two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and is capable of operating an air wing of up to 24 F-35B Lightning II aircraft, alongside helicopters such as Merlin, Chinook, Apache and Wildcat. The carrier previously led Operation Highmast, an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific in 2025, including exercises with India and other regional partners, underlining the UK’s ability to operate at range while maintaining NATO-linked commitments.
Correct location for it, but it will be interesting to see what escorts and RFA can be scraped up for the deployment!
I’d suggest
– 2 x T45
– 1 x Tide
– 1 x T23
– 1 x Astute
I’ll be interested to see how many F35 Starmer insists on and for how long.
I’m 50/50 on the Astute, and I’m more inclined to think that it’ll be a single British destroyer, and various allied ships filling in. The Dutch, the Danes, but particularly the Norwegians would be interested. The French might do a sort of trade, considering we’ve just attached Dauntless to their CSG.
So, I’d guess:
– 1 x T45
– 1 x Tide
– 1 x Fridtjof Nansen/De Zeven Provincien/FREMM
– 1 x Astute (maybe – I don’t think they’ll pull Anson back, and I don’t think that any of the others are a guaranteed sight)
Virginia class as a substitute sub for an Astute maybe, although that maybe would need us to stump up more surface escorts as I’m not sure the US would want other allies in the group.
I would be surprised if they had not got another Astute out and about pretty shortly TBH.
I am sure it will involve parts rotations from one hull to another but it will be done otherwise the Astute to AUS starts to look embarrassing.
For sure there will be allied ships involved.
I think Starmer’s speech referenced ‘with US and European allies’.
In fairness a mission like this doesn’t necessarily need to be so heavy in F-35s. This is pretty much going to be the same use case as the Invincible class where 8-12 jets for air defence is probably sufficient and covering their entire role. Seeing an increased ASW capability (although the QE-class have already usually been pretty good on this) is probably more important, though it doesn’t get as much attention.
True
But Mad Vlad and The Tangerine play to trumps so the more F35B present the Bigger Beautiful(er) CSG.
Maybe if they put some gold leaf on PoW it could impress Tge Tangerine?
Maybe dedicate her as part of the RN Trump class?
What about a gilded stern gallery a la Victory? Those boat boarding ramps don’t get used for much, it would be easy to add a three deck Admiral’s cabin/ Captain’s cabin/ Wardroom arrangement there.
I think you are onto something there.
Maybe saw the back end of Victory off and put it on the back of QEC as the King Trump suite?
It would look tacky
Be of no practical use
Distract from the task in hand
Keep Trump happy
The perfect Trumpian policies?
Something I can agree with him on for once, even though other parts of his speech were posturing waffle.
You know when your country is scraping the bottom of the barrel when its PM makes a big thing of sending a capital ship into what are our home waters, which is something we took for granted for well over 200 years.
No doubting our force’s quality or commitment but the rhetoric is hollow.
The Invincibles were all over that tasking for decades….
Well we know we’re meant to speak softly and carry a big stick.
But our political class are so desperate to grandstand that minor detail gets ignored, and the big stick has shrunk to a twig.
Exactly!
Nice to see the carriers being used, may a bigger navy and Airforce is needed more than a bigger Army, just a thought. I know the currant government talks a lot but does nothing else its ok a lot problems to fix from the last 20 years.
We all want a better Army but in the world now is a bigger better Army as much use as bigger Navy or Airforce? Only my view but much more Anti UCAS/GBAD would be better than lots of vehicles, more excorts and ASW ships and Strike and SEAD and AWACS aircraft. By the time we scrap together a full Div if we ever really can? what ever happened will be over on the ground, others will have hold the line on land not us.
Most know any Div we field would under guned, lack heavy Armour/Arty, decent GBAD and little or no anti U-CAS/Drone defence. We just hate admitting it we are a shadow of what we were and the will and money to fix it will never be there. DIP will be a cut hidden as some thing else.
Well my view has always been the RN, RAF and intell first.
But, we do need a bigger army.
It’s unlikely that the UK would ever have to fight a peer adversary on its own and hopefully our ongoing support and leadership towards a stronger NATO alliance should ensure that. I think therefore we need a force structure that is flexible, versatile and responsive. It also has to be large enough and well equipped to get the job done and hopefully avoid major, drawn out conflict. For me, the plans regarding the modernisation and re-equipment of the UK Armed Forces is on the right track; it’s just taking too long, there is rightful frustration around numbers and contracts have not been managed well financially. The whole through-life procurement and in-service support process needs reform. So cuts are often made to save costs and capability goes awry. There are too many examples to note here, but regular posters will know what they are. But we do have some really good tier 1 capability with more on the way; but we need even more and faster.
Why Prince of Wales and not Queen Elizabeth? Isn’t it the latter’s turn to deploy?
QE is still in refit and afterward will need significant time to work back up again to readiness. Unless the deployment is at the end of the year Prince of Wales is the obvious choice.
Yes makes a lot of sense we need to concentrate the navies main strength in the North Atlantic home waters and nursemaid the remaining t23s until the new frigates arrive just in the nick of time hopefully!
Doesn’t look like any more orders will be forthcoming for frigates but there were rumours of us buying Norwegian drone mother ship/ patrol vessels to replace batch 1 rivers apparently leaked by the Norwegians but no confirmation or batch 3 rivers enhanced which makes alot of sense!
Then mrss who knows what and if that will look like now🤔
Kongsberg Vanguard variant to replace the B1 Rivers would be a no brainer. Part of the T26 deal, commercial standards/ costs, fills urgent drone mothership requirement, quick build, retain the OPV capability, upgraded – 30mm and heli-deck? What’s not to like?
Yes as you say a no brainer a cheap way to fill gaps makes you wonder if part of Norways sudden we may only order 3 frigates is part of a bargaining ploy to make sure we order them in return for type 26! All awaiting the DIP nothing can be decided🙄
I suspect that most of the DIP has been decided, that the shortfall has been allocated to GCAP and that Prince William has been sent to Riyadh with a mission to do a deal and come back with some Saudi readies 😂
Ha I think you could be right alot goes on behind the scene 😆