HMS Prince of Wales has encountered a dangerous foe at sea, a massive inflatable target known as the “Killer Tomato”.
The Royal Navy use a wide range of weapons training devices and simulators to train its personnel on various weapon systems, including firearms, missiles, and torpedoes.
Photographer LPhot Helayna Birkett, footage is Crown Copyright 2025.
— UK Defence Journal (@UKDefJournal) May 19, 2025
The inflatable target utilised for target practice during naval operations is colloquially referred to as the “Killer Tomato.” Its name is attributed to its resemblance to a large tomato.
These training devices are designed to provide realistic scenarios and simulations to help personnel develop the skills and knowledge necessary to operate the weapons systems effectively and safely.
Operation Highmast
Operation Highmast is an ambitious eight-month deployment of the UK’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG25), led by the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales. This deployment aims to bolster the United Kingdom’s military presence and strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, reflecting the UK’s commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.
As part of the UK’s global defence strategy, Operation Highmast is expected to involve joint exercises, port visits, and cooperation with key allies, including the United States, Japan, and Australia. The deployment also aligns with the UK’s broader strategic objectives, focusing on enhancing maritime security and deterring potential threats.
The Carrier Strike Group, commanded by Commodore James Blackmore, comprises HMS Prince of Wales, several Royal Navy escort vessels, and allied support ships. Notably, the deployment features a diverse range of aircraft, including F-35B Lightning II jets, Merlin helicopters, drones, and air assets from partner nations.
The inclusion of allied forces highlights the cooperative nature of the mission, strengthening interoperability and joint operational capability. Exercises planned during the deployment include anti-submarine warfare drills, maritime strike training, and integrated air defence scenarios, further reinforcing the UK’s operational readiness in the region.
The operation follows the successful CSG21 deployment, which marked the UK’s renewed maritime focus on the Indo-Pacific. Building on the lessons learned from previous carrier operations, CSG25 aims to enhance maritime security through presence patrols and joint exercises, particularly in areas of strategic interest such as the South China Sea and the Western Pacific. This deployment also underscores the Royal Navy’s growing role as a forward-leaning force, capable of rapid deployment and sustained presence in key global regions.
Currently, Operation Highmast is underway, with HMS Prince of Wales and accompanying vessels conducting initial phases of the deployment. The task group has completed joint training off the UK coast and is now in its first series of engagements in the Mediterranean before proceeding through the Suez Canal. Early indications suggest that the deployment is progressing smoothly, with naval and air assets demonstrating high levels of readiness.
Nice to see, with all the focus on drones of late we’ve risked forgetting about the threat gingers pose.
“Dark Star” was so prophetic 😏
‘Hello Bomb…’ imagine having munitions like the bomb on Dark Star.
Was Number 6 trying to escape again?
I’m not a number. I’m a free man!
It’s so good to see this capability being demonstrated on the high seas, you can never tell when the next Vegan attack will happen.
“Hello, I’m a Vegan, did I tell you I’m a Vegan ?
And ya boo sucks to them Houthis.
You never know when the buggers will come along and liberate all your livestock.
Why did the RN retire its miniguns ? …. I thought they would be a good weapon against simple drones.
They have been replaced/swapped out for .50 Cal H2 Brownings .
.50 cal, slower firing rate. heavier recoil possibly too clumsy for smaller drones.
Why not have both ?
Lack of range I believe.
They really do Need to reconsider the organic inner layer defence of the carriers and all the larger ships.
I know I harp on about Italian ship building but they seem to be getting a lot of bang for their buck and their newest 40,000 ton Aviation/amphip has 3 76mm super rapids with dart guided munitions ( 80% hit rate against high speed manoeuvring targets at 8km range from memory) as its inner layer and then 3 25mm cannon automatic weapon stations as its CIWs.
That’s this mob in a nutshell though. Our ships have always been criminally underarmed with the “fitted for but not with” crap
Mimi guns aren’t a bank busters.
we always seem to be years behind the Americans ie helicopter gunships.
I remember on an armilla patrol we met up with a US carrier group (very impressive “, our flying officer thought he’d show what our lynx could do with a machine gun bolted on. Not a lot as it turned out. The funniest thing was this clot decided to have the top gun theme playing over the tannoy on the upper deck.i can only imagine what the yanks thought
The thing is you can sort of see why they went small minimum armed vessels when the RN was trying to keep a lot of escorts running, but with the numbers today as well as the fact they are all large.. the aim of the game should be maximising every vessel.
The Italians are great at this.. every Escort even the ASW escorts have got long range aster 30 missiles as well as a good long range search radar, every escort, even the AAW escorts have a good hull sonar ( with a standard hull sonar between the ASW, GP and AAW ships) every escort has 2 medium guns ( 5inch and 76mm) with dart guided rounds.. every escort as ASM/land attack missiles.
So when fully finished by 2030 8 the ASW frigates may not be quite as gold plated ASW wise as the T26, but they are backed up by 7 more vessels with tails and 8 more with good hull sonars the 4 AAW ships ( 2 of which will piss all over every other AAW platform on the planet) will be backed up by 9 other escorts that have long range ABM capabilities and can fire aster 30 NT and 10 that have long range radar and can fire aster 30…
The ITS Cavour carries 32 Aster 15s. There must some space on the QE class for some CAMMs.
It’s not even CAMM, I can understand the argument that Air defence missiles could disrupt air ops.. but 3 57mms with guided rounds would not and provide a good inner screen out to 8km.. I’m happy that the escorts carry the missiles.. but there is no excuse not to have a very good set of medium guns.
But, you can’t rely on guns alone. You need a layered defense and CAMMs on the QE class would do just that. At the same time, you can’t expect your escorts to provide protection all the time.
Guided munitions essentially change the dynamics.. if you look at the Italian navy it’s focused its missiles on aster 30 because every escort and all the capital ships have super rapid 76mm with dart guided munitions essentially dart can attack high speed high g manoeuvring targets with the same accuracy as any short range missile ( each dart has got an 80% hit rate).
The argument is that having vertical launched CAMM would interfere with flight operations, due to the debris from the cold-launch mechanism on the flight deck. Granted, that’s a concern, hence why the US carriers/amphibious ships have their missiles in horizontal launchers below the flight deck. The French & Italians have no problem with having burning hot propellant from their hot-fired Asters potentially on the flight deck, so they have different views.
But the brand new small SEA Ancilia decoy launcher, that the RN is putting into service, fires counter-measures which are roughly the same width as CAMM, via cold launch too. Why not make a longer version of it, that can carry 4 to 8 CAMMs? You could put it below the flight deck, no problem, and you could manually reload it, unlike the vertical launch CAMM system. Plus you could also put it on amphibious, supply ships and the like, which have very limited space, as a better complement to Phalanx. The French have also recently unveiled a combined “Decoy & Mistral launcher” on the same launcher, with Mistrals on either side & decoys in the middle, so the idea is feasible. Either a “Compact CAMM launcher”, or a “Decoy & CAMM” launcher would do the job nicely.
Considering how much pride & prestige has been made of the QE carriers, how valuable the Navy considers them to be etc, you’d think that a Compact CAMM or something similar, would have been a priority, especially with the Red Sea battles recently!
‘Further, anyone hitting the Tomato is on a charge. We’ve only got one and it is expensive. That is all.’
All things bright and beautiful, floating on the swell
All things red and wonderful, the RN shoots to hell!
What exactly is realistic about a big red balloon?
so did they get it, becuase it was a stationary target, and so were they !