In the Northern Philippine Sea, one of the most powerful multinational naval forces currently at sea has assembled. At its heart is the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales, operating alongside Japan’s helicopter carrier JS Kaga and the U.S. Navy supercarrier USS George Washington.
They are joined by the USS America amphibious assault ship and a formidable escort screen: USS Shoup, USS Robert Smalls, JS Teruzuki, the Spanish frigate Méndez Núñez, Norway’s HNoMS Roald Amundsen, Australia’s HMAS Brisbane, and the Royal Navy’s own HMS Richmond and HMS Dauntless. Together, these 11 warships carry 23 aircraft and represent a combined strike force with the reach and firepower to operate across thousands of miles.
⚓️ In the Philippine Sea, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of allied naval power gathered. 🇬🇧 HMS Prince of Wales 🇯🇵 JS Kaga 🇺🇸 USS George Washington & more — carriers, escorts & air wings operating as one of the most powerful maritime forces afloat. #OpHighmast #CSG25 pic.twitter.com/pHgd6kLavQ
— UK Defence Journal (@UKDefJournal) August 12, 2025
A naval analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity due to other professional obligations, described the deployment as “the most powerful carrier fleet currently operating in the Pacific.” They added: “With HMS Prince of Wales at the centre, sailing alongside the U.S. supercarrier USS George Washington, Japan’s JS Kaga, and the USS America amphibious assault ship, this formation represents an unparalleled concentration of power in the region.”
On Prince of Wales’ flight deck, British and U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II jets from 809 Naval Air Squadron and VMFA-242 have landed and launched in rapid succession – a vivid demonstration of seamless integration between allied air wings. Carrier-based aviation, supported by destroyers, frigates, and amphibious assault capabilities, provides the task group with the flexibility to conduct everything from high-intensity strike operations to humanitarian missions.
The workout concluded with the UK’s flagship and her escorting destroyer HMS Dauntless putting into Yokosuka Naval Base for a three-week visit to Japan. The port call marks the latest phase of Operation Highmast, the Royal Navy’s eight-month Carrier Strike Group deployment across the Indo-Pacific.
Commodore James Blackmore, Commander UK Carrier Strike Group, said: “Operating together during the many evolutions over the past few weeks demonstrates the enhanced interoperability and the commitment of our partners and allies to the Indo-Pacific region.”
In a region where control of the seas is increasingly contested, the sight of multiple allied carriers operating together sends a clear signal: this is what maximum naval power looks like, and it is on the side of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Combined 23 aircraft ……or 123 aircraft ?
And I counted 12 warships, not 11!
Impressed.
The whole is better than the sum of it’s parts.
Shocking that an America class and Queen Elizabeth class cost roughly the same amount to build, especially given the capability differences. I appreciate that US has higher labour costs, but there must be more to it than that.
Maybe we should offer to build a few QECs for the USN!
Careful….that is a Trumpian thought….serious the Tangerine Tinted one said as much…
Especially given that USS America itself has no well dock in an attempt to maximise aviation capacity, and so has no more surface connectors than the QEs.
I’m not sure how many Ospreys our carriers could carry?
They have been trialled on the QE’s (Ospreys that is) and on the Lifts, so I guess they can be carried. They do fold up rather neatly for storage.
Personally I wouldn’t get excited at having them on the Carriers, especially at the enormous cost.
Not to mention the patchy reliability and safety
So 12 ships, plus whatever may be lurking in the depths…
Can I just point out that is the second US carrier group trotting around with only two major surface combatants as escorts… now I made a joke last time, but when the UK sends out a carrier with only 2 escorts people start frothing at the mouth as it’s a sign of the issues with the numbers of RN surface combatants..
But in all seriousness at last look the USN had 73 ABs and 6 Ticonderogas with those Ticos all being about 35 years old and 34 of the ABs being 25 to 34 years old and on the other side they have 10 super carriers and 27 major amphibious vessels to escort around the globe.. not including their auxiliaries that may need escorts and single deployments.. the USN is suffering badly from 1) the destruction of industrial capacity and the insanity of the littoral combat ships that lost them all their usefull frigate fleet and the zumlwalt destroyer programme.
So although it’s on a different scale to the RN the USN are suffering the same crisis of major surface combatant..
It makes you realise how serious a contribution and escort fleet of 24 combatants would be for RN @ 1/3 of USN combatant strength.
Just T32B2 needed to achieve that.
Worth a thought and not that expensive either even with Mk41 and semi quietened for a tail.
I’m sure Hugo will be along shortly to tell us to give up and go home because we currently can’t crew anything – which isn’t really true as RN have plenty of bodies but are short of WO and MO high power 6kV+ tickets.
Personally I think we should settle on a figure of 50 ships supporting 2 or maybe 3 carriers.
I think we could acelerate production to maybe 4 ships a year until we get to that figure and then replace at 2 a years on an ongoing basis.
We would also need many platforms for these automated systems which should boost the firepower 5 or 10 fold.
We need to be in a position where Europe combined can out match the US or China two or three times. The French & Germans need to match our efforts although perhaps much of the german expense might be focused on land forces.
Let’s hope both the T26 and T31 trials go particularly well.
Okay and back in the real world, gilt yields are blown out whilst taxation is smothering aggregate demand and weighing on GDP – not exactly a fiscal environment conducive to funding a massive expansion of the RN!
I’m not thinking it will really be a massive increase 20 more T31s would only cost us say 8Bn plus yes the T26 is more expensive but the more we order the less the cost per unit plus if we are committing to long term funding that should drive the cost per unit down. We have a bad habit of building small numbers at high costs.
We need to be planning high quality in decent numbers deters the enemy.
Oh and personally I doubt the British public will put up with the current shower for much longer they can’t afford their commitments on either Defence, NHS or adult care. They are completely lost. I think a change of Government is on the cards.
Yes, a bit like adding to Americas missing E7’s the UK could do well to add affordable escorts that the USN could borrow from. I have zero hope US ship building gets turned around any time soon.
The military industrial complex wants those sweet tax dollars but few places in the USA can recruit ship workers at a reasonable price and Americas admirals will never be able to stop themselves gold platting the toilets on their destroyers.
A fraction of their budget spent in South Korea woukd get them a fleet of Aegis equipped destroyers to serve as an interim capability but it’s too politically toxic. They can’t even buy missiles from the UK so foreign warships are a total no go.
T32 B2 ?
My god, It’s bad enough waiting for the mytical T32 as it is, let alone a B2 ! 😁
I hear what you are saying, but there are likely plenty of other US assets is the near vicinity that could supplement their CSGs at short notice. The UK could get away with this is its own backyard too (North Atlantic, Mediterranean); but it’s different when you are sending the bulk our your active firepower to the other side of the world with a view to provoke (maybe too strong a word) semi-hostile countries. The UK doesn’t have any / many other sovereign assets in the area that could be called upon at short notice.
Don’t they technically have 11 supercarriers if you include the Gerald Ford. I know Nimitz has just about had it’s moment and will be scrapped soon but the Ford Class is building momentum and the replacement of all the Nimitz class carriers should be phased in over the next couple of decades maybe.
Unfortunately the reverse has become true, Ford class procurement is slowing down. The next two just got delayed by a further two years with Enterprise the third carrier not due until 2030.
They will now drop to 10 carriers by the end of the decade and there is till no plan to get the F35C on to the first two Ford Class yet and maybe the third.
Now FA/XX has been cancelled we may see the US carriers going the way of AWACS. I think a like for like replacement of Ford Class and Nimitz is unlikely now. Maybe dropping down to 6 super carriers and more America class is a good idea for them.
Last I heard the official requirement was for 12 ships, but as Jim observes, the achievable build rate versus the scheduled retirement of older ships is going to make it impossible to meet that requirement any time soon.