United States Marine Corps V-22 Ospreys and F-35B Lightning II jets have embarked aboard HMS Prince of Wales alongside British aircraft as the Royal Navy’s flagship continues operations in the Pacific under Operation Highmast.

Image credit LPhot Bill Spurr, Royal Navy.

Flight operations involving the US aircraft were conducted on 21 July as part of integration drills ahead of their full embarkation, which took place last week. The embarked U.S. Marine Corps detachment marks a major boost for combined UK-US air operations during the carrier’s eight-month deployment.

Operation Highmast is the UK’s primary naval deployment of 2025. It brings together forces from around a dozen nations in a task group led by HMS Prince of Wales, now operating in the western Pacific following its transit through the Mediterranean and Middle East and recent stop in Australia.

The deployment includes a series of joint and multinational exercises aimed at strengthening partnerships, ensuring regional security, and promoting British trade and industry.

According to the Royal Navy, more than 4,500 British military personnel are involved in the deployment. This includes approximately 2,500 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines, 900 British Army soldiers, and nearly 600 Royal Air Force personnel.

The integration of USMC F-35Bs and Ospreys aboard HMS Prince of Wales builds on prior cooperation between the two services and demonstrates the ship’s role as a fully interoperable platform for allied fifth-generation air operations. It follows a similar model tested during the UK-led Carrier Strike Group 21 deployment, when US Marine Corps aircraft operated from HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Now active in the Indo-Pacific, the carrier strike group will continue exercising with key regional partners and conducting port visits across the Pacific Rim.

IMAGE CROWN COPYRIGHT 2025

The ship herself

 

HMS Prince of Wales is a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Navy and based at HMNB Portsmouth. At full load, the vessel displaces approximately 80,600 tonnes and measures 284 metres in length with a beam of 73 metres overall. The carrier features nine decks below the flight deck, with 16,000 square metres of aviation space. It has a top speed tested at 32 knots and a range of 10,000 nautical miles.

The ship’s sensors include the S1850M long-range radar, Type 997 Artisan 3D radar, and Ultra Electronics electro-optical systems. Armament consists of Phalanx CIWS, 30mm DS30M Mk2 guns, and .50 calibre heavy machine guns. The standard ship’s company is 679, with the ability to carry up to 1,600 personnel, including 250 troops.

The vessel has significant aviation capabilities, including a hangar, two aircraft lifts, and support infrastructure for fuelling and rearming. It is designed to operate a carrier air wing of around 24 F-35B Lightning II aircraft alongside various helicopter types such as the Merlin, Chinook, Wildcat, and Apache. The ship also supports airborne surveillance aircraft under the Maritime Airborne Surveillance Capability (MASC) programme.

Construction began in 2011 at Rosyth Dockyard, and the carrier was formally commissioned into Royal Navy service on 10 December 2019, the 78th anniversary of the loss of the previous HMS Prince of Wales.

In 2023, HMS Prince of Wales undertook a series of uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) trials. These included logistics tests with W Autonomous Systems in the English Channel and, later, more advanced flight operations in the United States. On 15 November 2023, a General Atomics Mojave UAV successfully launched from and landed on the carrier’s flight deck, marking the first time such a large uncrewed system operated from a non-US Navy carrier.

In 2024, the ship replaced HMS Queen Elizabeth in Exercise Steadfast Defender, deploying to Norway and returning to Portsmouth on 26 March, and eventually sailing for this deployment.

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51 COMMENTS

  1. “At full load the vessel displaces Approximately 80600 tonnes”

    Exact figures won’t be known for some time.

    I know, “Shut up” !

    Seriously though, that does sound better when compared to various other carriers both in service and proposed. I wonder if we will now see this figure more widely quoted, given the French and Chinese designs ?

    • Now now, we all know the measure of an aircraft carriers strength is how many Weetabix and Sausages the crew can eat.

      • Funny how that figure just shot up.

        Maybe It’s all the Pancakes, Hamburgers and Fries being Chinook lifted in for our Colonial cousins ?

        I will expect they will have to sit exams in British food recognition. Gravy, Chips, Crisps, Biicuits, Shepherds Pie, Tika Masala, Courgette, Quinoa and stuff not normally understood “Back Home”.

        Hope no-one mentions “Faggots”.

    • It’s easier to measure ’empty’ displacement so that tends to be what’s quoted, although I believe the ships displace ca. 70k tonnes minimum rather than the 65 normally quoted (which possibly comes from the original design spec?)

      • It all depends on fluid weights etc.

        Things like propulsive fuel, aviation fuel and water will add up to an awful Lott for than 5kt.

      • Motorcycles used to all be shown with Dry weight but now most are shown with Wet weight. There is a difference that can add up to a fair % more. Also, Motorcycle engine power now tends to be shown as Crank and Rear Wheel, a diference of @ 10-15%.

        Just thought I’d mention it here as I doubt there are many Two Wheelers here ?

        • “Two Wheelers” iss that another euphemism? …if not it should be ,and I declare. It so ..surely needs no definition….

  2. I’ve said this in other forums, but in the event of an immediate conflict in the Pacific, the most valuable assets that the RN could supply would be the QE-class being used as a further hull for the better-armed USMC F-35B fleet, and the five exceptional Astute-class SSNs. Given its age, lack of proper ballistic defence and lack of a high-end anti-ship missile, our current surface escort fleet would struggle without significant American or Japanese support.

    • leh,
      Eventually, especially SSN-A, particularly if equipped w/ SLCM-N. Equally capable of slaying RU Bear or decimating CN Dragon. Essentially, a potentially nuclear armed next-gen SSGN equivalent. Perhaps giving the CRINKs cause to pause. 🤔👍😁

    • Morning Leh, just a quick observation, It’s not usual that HMG or MOD take advice from “Forums” or their “Members”, God knows we all try to help out as well as we can and this site itself has a plethora of experts but, I feel it’s mostly to no avail.

      Maybe you can contact Mr Healey direct and ask him to Join in the chat here, It would be great to see his replies.

      He can always post under a different handle and he can have a nice “Space Invaders” type Avatar like wat we all has !If you do email him, can you ask if RR from accounts can pop in too, I’m sure she would enjoy answering all the questions we all have.

      “If you don’t ask”.

      • “Defence’s core roles can only be credibly achieved if supported by a whole-of-society effort to build national resilience and preparedness for crisis or conflict. Defence must play its part in this, communicating clearly with the public about the threats facing the UK and what is involved to deter and defeat them…”
        Strategic Defence Review 2025

        “It is not just the Government’s defence review, but Britain’s defence review. The Government endorse its vision and accept its 62 recommendations, which will be implemented.”
        John Healey

        • It does get read.

          Lumps of chats on here end up verbatim in parliamentary subcommittees and debates.

          It is part of society engaging.

          • Interesting, do you have any particular examples of posters comments being discussed ? I’ve never seen anything personally.

  3. Interesting…very interesting. USMC contingent simply materializes aboard PWLS, no drama and equally no known previous public disclosure. Rather seamless, no-notice combined ops. demonstrated, and presumably duly noted in Beijing. Message transmitted to intended audience relatively subtlely. A SWAG that this will remain the operational model through the SCS deployment. Additional SWAG that there is now an USN SSN w/in hailing distance of the CSG through the SCS phase. Collectively, well done gentlemen (and ladies). 🤔👍😊

    • Ummm…er…in the boilerplate text describing PWLS capabilities, perhaps it would be judicious to delete the reference to DS30M Mk2 mounts, or insert the adjective ‘virtual’? 🤔😉

      • You’d think there must be some spare 30mm mounts lying around from all the T23s that have decommissioned or, add another Phalanx and or RAM or, try put some 40mm which fit on the back of a truck so should fit in the sponson areas? For now its FFFreshAir. Yes, we know they’ll be AAW escorts but even better IMHO to have both.
        And, this has been said before, but why don’t they try for an Osprey-Hawkeye AEW variant?

        • QD,
          A usually reliable source on this site has stated in the past that the RN already has new 30 mm guns in inventory for the QE class. No apparent reason to doubt that account. The DIP may resolve missile issues. 🤔🤞

          • These 30mm mounts have obtained mythical status on this site, the savior in the last ditch attempts to ward off incoming ordinence, drones and Somali fishermen.

            Not sure they are actually that good though ?

            How’s your Grit’s ?

        • Its more lack of manpower to man and service them than lack of mounts as there are plenty in store. But a SAM system would be a better fit out and many options there that would deal with the threats. Ah well she will always have a close escort anyway unlike the CVS’s which often had to look after themselves when deployed at least they had a couple of 20mm’s to help fend off those nasty ‘fishermen’.

          • It will be interesting what QEC emerges from her refit / insertion with as it would be the obvious time to do a fit.

          • Angus, maybe we should re task the River 2’s with their 30mm’s ?
            Not sure they could keep up with the 32 knots of the Carriers though.

          • The 30mm are useful against incoming boats or drones. But don’t add a huge amount to Phalanx for fast moving targets.

            However, they don’t have the utility of the 40mm which has sufficient fragmentation debris volume to do proper damage to faster moving small objects.

          • 32 knots? (down hill with the wind behind her) They had a design max of 25 knots after a given time of sea exposure and the B2’s can also top that if needed. T42’s topped 36 knots at times but in service it was 30 as a max. Also note the escorts would hardly be able to keep up with such speeds either as is the case with the USN as the escorts cannot approach or sustain such speeds possible but the Nuc carriers.

            Note the CVS’s in later life struggled to hit 30 knots even with all that power.

            If we went to War then the B2’s would most certinaly be upgunned as they have space to do so.

          • “32 knots”
            That’s what it says above in the article.

            “It has a top speed tested at 32 knots”. It’s in the same paragraph that states it has a loaded weight of @ 80600 tonnes.
            It’s easy to miss these quotes but they do seem at odds with most specs I’ve ever read. I guess UKDJ has it’s source.

  4. The USMC aircraft are from USS America (LHA 6), which is currently on a 31st MEU deployment. USS America was forward based in Japan for several years and is now being replaced there by USS Tripoli (LHA 7). The different aircraft types are based either on Okinawa or on mainland Japan, so I guess the PoW will drop them back home or they will transfer back to USS America after this portion of the CSG deployment. I wonder how much of the Marine Air Combat Element is aboard PoW now, I think the America had 6 F-35Bs deployed, and I saw 4 of them aboard PoW in a pic from July 22nd. Maybe all of them are aboard PoW now? In addition to F-35Bs and Ospreys, the America was operating UH-1Ws, AH-1Zs, CH-53Es and a few Navy MH-60S helicopters.

      • As we know. It is 72 aircraft of all types.
        In war. When all rules go out the window.
        Which hopefully never happens.

    • It’s about 70 if you’re prepared to pack out the flight deck. No point in doing so because it would make it hard to generate sorties.

      • Closer to the actual figure for sure but the UK will never have those numbers available to serve aboard them unfortunately. Gone are the days when the RN/FAA could fill the decks of several carriers at the same time!

        • And gone are the days of cheap as chips Seafires etc; life has changed.

          Americans must be spitting that we can’t supply an Astute for our own carrier; lamentable situation.

          • We could do that into the late 60’s with not so cheap as chips UK made aircraft for which only the US could better. Even in the age of the CVS (initally to be armed with 9 Seakings ASW and 5 SHAR’s) went up into the numbers which at times provided a fair punch that again only the US could better but often failed to do so in places like the Gulf!

            Yes life has changed but not for the better as the Worls is less safe than it once was even in my lifetime. Sad times for all. But someone is getting rich!!!

  6. Osprey just looks so good on there, long range COD, possibility to pallet load an air to air refuelling system and I am sure they could do something similar for AEW, they could even do fast&long distance aircrew rescue.
    The refuel option would aid the F-35Bs range and a small fleet of these would be cheaper than converting the carriers for refuel drones, even if only purchased/leased as a stop gap.
    With F35A coming the MOD cannot say that small fleets are too costly. Could we even lease them ?

    • Even a version of ‘Crowsnest’ was considered for them but the budget was not there as would need at least a dozen or more to make it work and the additional cost of bringing them into service would have killed it off . But could easily have been multi tasking for sure thus making the embarked air wing have greater impact further from the point of launch, . Aspiration or dreams?

    • The fuel load Osprey can carry is not worth the bother .
      You also cannot have an Osprey near threat hanging around to do AAR as it is vulnerable, non stealthy and the weak link so the F35s end up ditching after running on fumes. It would be the weak link in the kill chain.

      • Then why did A4’s (a little jet) do it or Sea Vixen/Bucc and such in the past for the RN because they added greatly embarked CAG. Such assets do not go so close to the action and refueling the CAP for example to give it more time up top helps with the numbers, so I disagree with your oppion, it would be a boost to the capabilities of the limited number of fast jets embarked. A Stike package getting topped up before heading off also allows them to go further as most fuel is used getting off the deck with the weapons.

  7. Its good to see our carriers working up to full load capacity. It will develop handling procedures. I wonder if the USMC will also learn/use the rolling landing method.

    I have often said that the USN carriers and the RN carriers do diffrent jobs, one is a CV(N)S-trike the other is a CVF-ighter. The QEs would work very well as the fixed wing part of a two LHD group, two LHDs one CVF. To be honest this is how I would like to see the RN form its main capability with two MRSS per LHD and two LHDs per QE CVF plus escorts.

  8. Why not ? We should have 48 F35B delivered, the whole of the first tranche ordered by the end of next year , 2026 and an additional 15 F35B just announced by the ‘end of the decade’ giving a total.of 63 . That of course not counting the 12 F35A we are buying for the ICU and nuclear roles. Would rather of course we were getting 16 but 12 should work in the interim particularly given they will be supported by a large number of F35B.

    • you realise the more we have now with out full capability means less budget later as we spend billions upgrading them to the next software level and full capability. That then means we get a ship or sub less further down the road.

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