HMS Prince of Wales has sailed from Portsmouth to begin preparations for the deployment of the Carrier Strike Group to the High North and North Atlantic later this year, the Royal Navy confirmed, with the carrier set to operate under NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission.
The 65,000-tonne flagship departed Portsmouth Naval Base for the first time since returning from Operation Highmast, the eight-month Indo-Pacific deployment she led as the Royal Navy’s premier deployment of 2025, with her crew of over 900 having spent the intervening period cleaning, servicing, maintaining and upgrading thousands of systems before loading food, spare parts and supporting equipment in recent days ahead of sailing.
Air power for the initial preparation phase will be provided by Merlin helicopters of 820 Naval Air Squadron based at Culdrose, maritime Wildcats of 815 Naval Air Squadron and battlefield Wildcats from 847 Naval Air Squadron, both based at RNAS Yeovilton, alongside Malloy drones, with the carrier set to undergo combined training in home waters before embarking ammunition in Scotland ahead of operations.
Commander David Mason, the flagship’s second-in-command, said “HMS Prince of Wales ship’s company is looking forward to sailing, for the first time since returning from deployment in 2025, with their headquarters and air wing embarked”, while Executive Warrant Officer David Wilson added that “after our time alongside the ship’s company is excited and keen to get back to sea.”
Given the lack of any air threat in the North Atlantic but the large threat represented by submarines, I hope they take this opportunity to minimise the F35 component onboard and maximise the deployment of Merlin Mk2.
Deploying 9 Merlin’s in ASW configuration would give PoW a great value in the high north and it could be reminiscent of the Invincible class role in the late Cold War providing ASW support while the fighters take out long range Russian scouts and bombers.
Combined with the HMS Dragon leading the NATO standing maritime force 1 this would give NATO a major combined fleet operating in the North Atlantic. Leading such a continuous force is probably the best thing the UK can do with its carriers given the current Geo political situation with Washington.
PoW operating 12 F35’s along side 9 Merlin’s and 4 wildcats is a potent air group perfectly tailored for operations in the North Atlantic.
For North Atlantic ASW fleets the perfect air wing would include MQ9B STOL in the MPA and AEW roles, of course. Wouldn’t cost a lot in the grand scheme of things but would make our carrier group uniquely capable for sea control in a way none of the CATOBAR navies can match at present.
That, topping up the F35B numbers and JSM (which MQ9B can also carry) would leave our carrier capability essentially complete.
Hopefully more drone options in years to come. make the carrier operations lower cost and lethal out in the Atlantic.
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As you say, POW could usefully fulfil an Invincible CVS type role. But a major difference is that in the 1980’s it was expected that a CVS would be the HVU acting as flag for a TG of at least 4 frigates, 2 destroyers and a couple of RFAs. At least that is my recollection from RO(T) training long ago.
Wonder what the escort group will be? Probably 1 T45 & 1 T23 + a Dutch or Norwegian frigate. Maybe a Tide Class oiler in support. That’s pretty much the entire deployable fleet. It has been said so many times but we really have to get more escorts into the fleet as quickly as possible.
If i can just stir this old pot again. You’d think that especially with less escorts currently available that there would be more emphasis on improving the defensive armaments of these carriers? Less escorts is less protection and less layered protection at that, period. Bit of common and surely is affordable to add the 30mm (even if recycled ycked/upgraded to latest spec) and Ancilia to more thoroughly protect these valuable assets.
And acquisition of some stand-off AShM for the F35bs?
I Wonder if A Trip to THE FALKLANDS would be on the Itinerary…? If you Want to have the Protection of the big boy you don’t kick him in the Nuts….!
It’s on a NATO mission so no, however sailing round the North Atlantic and making port visits to the USA is a very good message to send to Argentina in a way that doesn’t provoke anyone in the Americas.
At least they’re not going in Winter…
Arctic convoys were bad enough with Axis attacks but the conditions they sailed in… God in Heaven.
Good, live practice for the ASW bods, what with lots of live contacts up there at the moment.
Unfortunately we need more escort ships with air defences, more aircraft, more helicopters, pretty much more of everything if we want to be able to deploy 2 carrier strike groups. We cannot rely on others. When hot war starts those that you thought you could call on may be absent or hesitant. It is clear the UK cannot defend itself on any front and if you see what Germany is doing now and spending now in comparison, we look ridiculously complacent. We haven’t even started implementing the defence review conclusions and so the government is failing in its first duty. RUSSIA IS SPENDING 40% OF GDP. We haven’t ordered more F35s or Typhoons as a stop gap. We have 1 operable E7 when we need at least 6. We need to ramp up ship building not cede production positions to Norway. We could sell and produce more of everything, drill oil and gas and yet we prefer to import everything including wind and solar from China based on a ideology and not economics. No other country fails to exploit its resources and capabilities like the UK.
There becomes a point where the whole thing is absurd. We do not have the capability to support carriers with the required level of escorts. It sounds flashy to have them, but we obviously assumed they would be operating in conjunction with escorts from other nations. If that is no longer the case then you have to question if it’s a good use of limited resources going forward.
Are we saying Europe should not have carriers or that uk would go to war on its own? Of course uk navy is unbalanced that’s agreed.
perhaps if we built more ships/escorts. and support ships. we would not depend on so called allies..
if we ant put up the hard cash. to defend ourselves. then we could just scrape the bloody lot. and let our friends in Europe defend us.
justa jokea.. but truthfully if we cant bebothered to spend the cash to defend ourselves. then why should others defend us.
in fact i don’t think they will. ..just my humble opinion chaps..
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Bad. Recall the fate of HMS Courageous.
Escort carriers yes. Fleet carriers no.
I think the Baltic states are delighted at our contribution to protect this area and are more than happy to provide escorts. A carrier is a game changer.