Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales has passed through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to begin the Indo-Pacific phase of her eight-month mission, according to a press release.
Flanked by destroyer HMS Dauntless, frigates HMS Richmond, HNoMS Roald Amundsen, HMCS Ville de Québec and ESPS Méndez Núñez, plus aviation units, the carrier transited the desert-lined waterway late last week before emerging into the Indian Ocean. Its flight deck carried F-35B Lightning II jets alongside Merlin and Wildcat helicopters while 4,500 British personnel, including sailors, marines, soldiers and RAF aircrew, support the deployment.
The move concludes a month of drills in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean that included a 21-ship, three-submarine exercise with the Italian Navy in the Ionian Sea involving 41 fast jets, 19 helicopters and 8,000 personnel. It is also the first time the 65,000-tonne carrier has operated this far east.
Codenamed Operation Highmast, the UK Carrier Strike Group will continue eastward toward the western Pacific Rim, conducting large-scale exercises with allied forces to underline the United Kingdom’s commitment to regional security and to promote British trade and industry.
During the transit the task group passed landmarks familiar to generations of Royal Navy sailors, from the inter-war Suez Canal Memorial to the 230-foot-high Al Salam Bridge.
The press release states that the ultimate goal of the mission is to demonstrate collective resolve with allies across the Mediterranean, Middle East and Indo-Pacific while showcasing the reach, agility and deterrent value of Britain’s carrier strike capability.
Still very little media output on CSG25, which has taken myself and others by surprise.
I can’t help but think this is partially because they haven’t got as many F35s on board as claimed, and they don’t want to admit that, although I would love to be proved wrong on this.
Apparently there were Voyagers and P8s deployed to Cyprus for the Suez / Red Sea transit, with the rumour being that some of the airgroup might return at that point. But I’ve yet to hear anything about sightings / movements.
Also, has there been any indication of when/where the sizable Army contingent is due to join for exercises, as previously suggested?
Could it also be that the Royal Navy are keeping the security/Information side of things fairly tight small scale because of the world we live in now. A lot has changed since the year 2021 – Queen Elizabeth carrier deployment. I could be wrong, just a thought.
Yes, just read that the RN and other escorting ships have been deliberately been hush hush with social media and video while traveling through the Red Sea. Can understand that for sure. 👍
Likely to be so throughout. The deployment is not intended as a PR exercise for the press.
‘True’
I’d have to disagree with that.
This is a statement of intent that is meant to be publicised.
The deployment is meant to be seen..its doing the three Cs of deterrent….but the eastern med and Red Sea is an active war zone full of threats so it’s not going to be complete freedom of information… I suspect once it’s into the India ocean and pacific it will free up and there will be more information.
It is a statement of intent, meant to get certain people’s attention, but those particular people don’t primarily get their information from western tabloids or Meta.
Well they’ve changed their tune a bit since CSG 21 then, as it was the complete opposite, with photo ops at every opportunity. As much as I did appreciate it generally, they may have over done it a bit, as even I felt it was cringeworthy at points. CSG25, obviously in a different geo-political environment, but seems to be completely the opposite.
Likely to be a film crew aboard though so they will be happy to show the world after the event.
Opsec
I would suggest because it’s moving through an active war zone, with live threats..
Conference, council, and confab? I’m not halfwit, I swear…
well, they won’t be coming in an Albion class so I suppose it will be RAF airways, doing it.
Whether you refer to a ship as a ‘she’ or an ‘it’ (I am a traditionalist on this), it’s good practice to do so consistently within an article.
To be fair to the author, it is Pride Month so navigating pronouns can be a bit of an art.
PRIDE? I FIND THAT RIDICULOUS Flag OFFENSIVE, I’D CASTRATE THE LOT OF THEM!
minus one’ been’ Oops
They are traveling through a war zone where there are lots of people who don’t really like us much, so I wouldn’t go down the something to hide / conspiracy route just because they are quiet. I’m pretty sure that once they get further out on their journey and start port calls / exercises we will see a lot more in the press, just not right now.
As for the size of the CAG it was stated before departure that it would be short 6 F35Bs to start off but they would join in due course.
The Voyager / P8 surge is a perfectly sensible deployment and I’d have been more surprised if they hadn’t done so. After all if someone did lob something at them they’d look a bit silly if they couldn’t safely respond due to a lack of tankers.
I do get fed up with us always knocking what we do (yep I’m guilty 😞) but fact is this is a very significant deployment. If the rumours are correct and they do get 24 onboard it will be one hell of an achievement and it will be the 1st time for decades the RN has the joy of operating a full Alpha wing. It will actually be the largest Naval deployment of 5th Generation Aircraft on any single Carrier yet, which is pretty damn cool !
What really interests me is the effects of the increased ground crews ratio per airframe for the F35s in terms of availability, surge capacity and erm Safety 🤞🏻compared to CSG21. This time they are apparently not trying to operate with half the numbers of ground crew that the USMC did with theirs, that was one of the lessons learnt from losing ZM152. There has been a lot of chatter about the RN struggling with maintaining the F35B in a maritime environment compared to the USMC, 🤞🏻 this puts that to rest.
It’s just oh so familiar that these sorts of “leaks” happen around SDR time and orders for more F35 are in then offing ! Personally I think we should order up another Tranche of F35 but something like 20 B’s (brings us up to 63 B’s plus the 3 test ones and 1 other) 36 A’s for the RAF and then look at more in a few years time.
I’d also bite the bullet and when the A’s enter service start to assign the B’s to the FAA with the proviso that when not embarked the FAA carry out RAF tasking (dispersed Forest operations anyone ?).
That may not seem a lot at 56 but it’s a decent uplift, stops the inter service bickering and with 63 B’s we can actually have a very potent CAG on one operational carrier plus reserves. Besides which it shuts Trump up and gives time for us to train more pilots 🤔
Seems fair.
The priority is getting more B, before any thought of A.
Morning Daniele.. Yup agree. B before A. 👍Also be very interesting to see how the drone technology advances for the carriers over the coming years!
My impression is that the A will be for carrying airborne nuclear weapons. If this is the case the fleet will be small and will have to be commited to as Typhoon as F-35B are not up to the job. If this is something that is deemed as required, which the SDR would suggest, I can see them being ordered before or with any order for a B uplift.
Too many things to happen before that is practical for us. Even with the A having longer legs than the B it still won’t have the range to bomb anyone further away than France or Germany without the ability to refuel it in midair. That we cannot do as it requires our tankers to be retrofitted with a boom unless LM are prepared to build an F-35D on an F-35A body with an F-35C cockpit and probe system. Can anyone say money pit?
With the B is fine, as long as we get more B.
Buying only 48 and switching to A hamstrings our QEC investment.
Hi M8 The reason I suggested a split buy is to be quite frank the US (and us as we build a fare bit if them all) is expecting second Tranche of 48. So if we just go for all B’s we end up with 91 which is way more than we need for our 2 carriers and a bit of a wasted opportunity.
By splitting the order and slightly enlarging it we get the much needed B’s and it starts up an RAF capability which does have more flexibility and lethality (hate that word) than a B.
The way the US / LM runs its procurement allows this pick and mix approach as it’s how they manage ordering A, B and Cs.
the f35 A agenda 1. you don’t want tempest 2. you don’t want fly navy 3 you don’t want submarine launched ballistic nuclear missiles
Yes, I have always been impressed by this deployment. 65,000 T carrier with 5th generation aircraft on board plus mix of helicopters. Not too many nations that could do that.👍With all of the logistics involved and distance.
I feel 72 is the magic number of F35Bs in the current climate. Of course this will likely change if the RAF do get the F35As. My reasoning is that with 72 F35B jets if gives you more flexibility and options, for example:
1. 24 Jets (2 squadrons on a carrier)
2. 36 jets (3 Squadrons) for UK/deployed operations
3. 12 jets shared between OCU and going through their deep maintenance cycle, eg 4 OCU and 8 Maint (This might be light as the jets requiring deep maintenance may be more)
4. 12 jets from UK duties available to be surged on the carrier if required
5. 24 Jets from UK duties embark on second carrier.
6. etc. etc
If the RAF do get the F35A, will they freeze the F35B purchase at 48 and go for an additional 48 F35As? They will however at some point need to replace the 3 trials jets in the US, as they can’t be used for front line duties, which at this point should be additional F35Bs, to bring the number up to 48 front line aircraft. Not sure if they have accounted for a replacement for the one lost off the carrier? The RAF were if I remember correctly, looking at the F35A as the replacement for Tornado GR4 years ago. Before the requirement was merged with the Harrier replacement and the carrier requirement to gives us only F35Bs. I do feel that if the RAF do get the F35A, they will want more than 2 squadrons and more likely settle for 3 alongside and OCU plus additional jets to rotate through the deep maintenance cycles, therefore closer to 48 jets.
It will be interesting to see if we ever get the carriers modified in line with Project Ark Royal. Which would then enable the carriers to operate a loyal wingman type of aircraft. Will the carriers still go for the standard manned air wing of 24 jets, supplemented by a corresponding uncrewed wing of 24 aircraft, or will the up the numbers of the uncrewed aircraft?
It would be short-sighted not to order more F35B after investing so heavily in carrier capability – though, given past decisions, I’mnot holding my breath.
If the RAF opts for the F35A, it would only make sense as part of a large order? But even then, that would obviously cause issues for the Tempest program?
I don’t understand why we don’t just ‘bulk out’ the things we do well rather than continually complicating things.
The F35B order has to be at least 36 more jets. Once we have 47+36 we will have enough of the B variant to operate both carriers with 24 each, 12 in ICU and a small reserve in refits and training/ allocated for other duties.
The RAF only requires the A version for nuclear strike, although an A purchase could also replace tranche 1 typhoons that have been scrapped already.
I’d prefer the MOD to commit too 24 F35As for nuclear strike but also a useful multi role fighter.
36 additional F35Bs then switch all focus to pulling Tempest programme to the left and getting construction going asap. We have to retain Soverign aircraft production once the Typhoon goes out of production.
I think the Typhoon out of production date will be around 2030 once all current orders are fulfilled.
So Tempest/GCAP has to begin construction by 2030, either that or a batch of additional typhoons will have to be ordered to retain the workforce.
Maybe 23 F35As. Revert back to just 27 additional F35Bs and a 24 typhoon order.
I think the RAF don’t want any more typhoon as they’d much prefer stealth and the F35 platform.
If you are going to switch type, the surely the C would be the better option?
I say that because there is always the possibility that the QEs will be converted to cats as has been mooted and I am not sure whether the C operating from land is hugely less capable than the A.
It seems like sensible hedge if you ask me as ifba conversion does take place, you have a ready made air wing.
The C variant costs about 25% (or $20m) more than the A variant, but does have compatible air-to-air refueling with our current tanker fleet. Not sure that would be worth the extra cost though.
Ah okay, thanks for that, I didn’t realise the price difference was as high as that.
I suppose if the capability was roughly equal to the A, it might still be sensible hedge, but only if there are definite plans to convert the QEs.
Otherwise, a small A purchase might make sense, but probably no more than a couple of sqns worth. We still need another 48 Bs though!
I think the RAF is likely to get a few more A400Ms and then fit them with the tanker conversion kits, therefore resolving the AtA refuelling difficulties for the B and A variants.
@SwingerSteve
I thought the whole discussion around buying the F-35C was put to rest years ago, given the modifications (cost) that would be required for the carriers?
Dave why would you want to buy 72 F35 B when you can quite happily provide 24 and 12 surge for CAG with 60 Airframes (I added 3 for attrition). The prime purpose for buying B’s is for carrier use not U.K land tasking (that’s a nice to have) for which they are the least suited and most expensive option. Much better to buy what you need for carrier ops and start to buy the A’s for the RAF, they are more capable and also cheaper so you get more mass for £££.
As for a 2nd carrier being deployed on a CAG trust me I’d love it but we just do not have enough crews and more importantly support handlers / maintainers (USMC have 21 per Airframe).
TBH given their History it’s also far better to keep the RAF and FAA separate they just don’t share their toys nicely. It’s also the reason I suggested some extra Bs to be ordered as part of the first A buy because if not just may never get any more.
The simple fact is that with the USMC cutting their B buy and LM building all 3 types on just 2 lines I can’t see the B’s being produced in the 30’s.
72 A’s and 63 B’s does look pretty pokey !
It is a joint force. They will all do everything. Carrier ops, land-based ops. They will go where the operational requirement requires them..The FAA doesn’t have the manning for a standalone F35B Force. And they won’t operate it from Yeovilton. That ship has sailed.
Jesus… with this optimism you should write the next SDR 🤩
Robert is right, though, for many reasons. Yeovilton is many years and even more £ away from being F35 useful.
and order 5 more T31 makes sense too. this is the ideal time to do it.
MoD need to answer why she’s been sent through contested waters with nothing more to protect her than 3x Phalanx? What’s happened to the DS30Ms? With the scrapping of so many surface vessels there will be sets spare. More ineptitude from the MoD?
I think your missing the 2 squadrons of F35s, ASW Merlin’s, AEW Merlin’s, T45, T23 as well as 2 other escorts and strategic air from the RAF.
I agree Jonathan -though for those of us old enough to grow up during the Falklands and the horrors of Sir Galahad/ Tristram) will know the price of ineptitude and penny pinching – (not to solely rely on others). Houthis have developed a competence and confident in hitting ships. I’d like to see her as a minimum equipped with 4 of them
Personally I think they should be looking at 40-57mm boffors and smart rounds for the 57mm.. as a minimum inner layer the Italians stick a super rapid 76mm with dart munitions on everything as standard.
Technology has come on along way from the Falklands. The combined air picture generated by all assets in the task group means these are the best protected Carriers the RN has ever operated.
And armed Wildcats which would be on alert through the transite of the Red Sea.
You do realise it is escorted by a destroyer & 4 frigates? Not to mention onboard F35B fighter jets.
Reliance on others is not a fool proof strategy for a £billion carrier and 1000 lives. Human factors, mechanical failure, ineptitude and complacency happen. She needs her 4x DS30Ms
and order 5 more T31 makes sense too. this is the ideal time to do it.
Navy Lookout reporting that at least one American destroyer (probably USS Truxton) escorted the CSG through the Red Sea. I think ballistic missile protection was the main gap that the USN could cover.
It did but it was very much about essentially stopping the Houthi from even attempting to attack..because the have a cease fire agreement and it was made clear by the Houthi it only covered US warships..so sticking a U.S. warship in the mix made it politically impossible for the Houthi to attack without breaking the cease fire and getting bombed by the U.S.
It has also been part of the exercises in the eastern med so has been part of the group for a while.
and order 5 more T31 makes sense too. this is the ideal time to do it.
One thing that people offer forget about the carriers is that they are not islands Alone, but what they infact do is allow tactical assets ( Merlin’s and fighters ) to become strategic assets and work alongside strategic assets.. this is particularly true of a UK carrier because it generally going to operate within reach if RAF strategic air, because the UK has access or owns world wide basing.. if it’s in the south Atlantic, mid Atlantic, North Atlantic, med, western or eastern Indian Ocean it’s within range of strategic air.. this means it can always have strategic tanker, strategic AEW, or maritime patrol support.. this is important because these are alway better and more effective than their carrier based equivalent platforms. So more strategic air is better for carrier strike, if we had Poseidon, A330-200 and wedgetails that could essentially be tasked to move to the closest basing to the carrier..due to their range and endurance they can support over a vast area of ocean.. after all a wedgetail can be in the air for 18 hours… cruises at 550Mph and can support detection of enemies out to 800km. With the basing the RAF have that supports most of the important bits of the world.
But we only have 3 Wedgetails. Definitely need that order to go back upto 5 asap (especially as we purchased the expensive radar sets, consoles and all the wiring) and then ultimately an additional 2-4 aircraft to take the RAF upto 7-9 AWACs is where we should be.
Wedgetails is such a vitally important and expensive asset it too should be escorted by typhoon of F35 everywhere it goes.
Very good!
I’m still hopeful that the CSG will head north of Japan for a day or two, reminding Putin that we have deployable force at both ends of his nation…
Reassuring to know that Commander Bond is proudly present on deck, ready for any World crises.
“007, your mission today will be!” (please insert any fantasy mission you care to concoct).
Put Mr Musk and Mr Trump in a box with no media account access just a bit of paper and a pen see how long one of them lives.
Slightly O/T but did anything ever come of the Israeli idea of stealth drop tanks for the F-35B?
It dropped off the radar.
I didn’t detect that.
Slightly off topic. Janes is reporting thst Germany is ordering the JSM for their F35As. Would it be possible for the RN to order for F35Bs pre Spear 3? Would a mix of both be ideal?
HNoMS Maud has now left CSG25, she’s currently in the Med and returning to Norway. One report says she may re-join the CAG for its homeward leg in a few months time. That leaves a big logistics’ gap, despite Tidespring squeezing on her deck as many ISO containers of stores as she can fit! PoW is at the UK Joint Logistics Support Base in Duqm, Oman. Finally the first visit by there by an RN carrier after Queen Elizabeth skipped it in 2021. Where next? A guesstimate is Singapore a via some exercises with the Indian Navy. Darwin, Australia, is pencilled in for July. Then north via the South China Sea to Japan in late August before back to Singapore and Malaysia in late September. Then homeward bound with a final major exercise in the Med with 24 F-35B’s briefly embarked on POW in November, and back to Portsmouth and Devonport by early December.