The most powerful deployment of British air power at sea this century has begun assembling aboard HMS Prince of Wales as the UK Carrier Strike Group heads towards the Indo-Pacific, the Royal Navy has announced.

The largest fifth-generation carrier air wing ever assembled is being built aboard HMS Prince of Wales as she leads the UK Carrier Strike Group into the Indo-Pacific.

Since departing Portsmouth, the flagship has embarked eighteen F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters from 809 Naval Air Squadron and 617 Squadron RAF. A further six F-35Bs are expected to join the ship later in the deployment, bringing the total to twenty-four — the largest fifth-generation air wing ever operated aboard a single carrier.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who joined HMS Prince of Wales to observe the assembly of the air group, said: “As she heads out on one of the largest deployments this century, we are sending a clear message of strength to our adversaries, and a message of unity and purpose to our allies. We will always stand with our allies and our commitment to global stability is unshakeable.”

In addition to the F-35s, the carrier’s embarked force includes sixteen Merlin helicopters (Mk2 anti-submarine and Mk4 troop-carrying variants), Wildcat maritime helicopters, and Malloy and Puma drones tasked with logistics, reconnaissance, and surveillance missions.

The full air group will be flown, maintained, and operated by around 750 personnel under Captain Colin McGannity, Commander Air Group.

“It’s taken a huge endeavour to get to this point thanks to thousands of people in squadrons, air bases, supporting staff, and industry,” said Captain McGannity. “It’s a huge privilege to lead this air group, to show what it can do and I’m massively looking forward to it.”

The Royal Navy stated that Operation Highmast is intended to “send a powerful message that the UK and its allies stand ready to protect vital trade routes in the Indo-Pacific region and deter those who seek to undermine global security.”

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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96 COMMENTS

  2. I left the Navy and the Fleet Air Arm back in 2013. Life has been very good since. But I am very envious of those young men and women who will be working on that flight deck with those incredible machines. A genuine world class and lethal capability.

      • Yes, superb to see. I think this coming Bank Holiday Monday included in the VE Day 80 fly past will there be F35 aircraft. Also I can imagine there will be F35’s for the Trooping the Colour fly past, such careful planning, impressive.

      • That’s not what posters are saying.
        They’re pleased to see a carrier with a good number of assets on it.

        • Hey Daniele.. Happy Sunday to you. Yes, I’m very fortunate in that the flypast for London goes over the field at the back of my house. Seeing the Typhoons and F35’s plus other aircraft with the powerful sound they make is just amazing. I always remember the RAF 100 flypast – Incredible seeing all of the Typhoons together.

          • Hi John!
            You’re lucky.
            Are you on the approach from the NE or where they disperse to the west?
            I’m in leafy Surrey, the Fast Air doesn’t come here but the Helis do, like with RAF100.

          • Hi Daniele.. Yes, I’m on the approach from the NE. Watch the aircraft fly over the back, then quickly nip back in doors to see them fly over Buckingham Palace on tv.

          • There’s tonnes of green spaces in London you know? Hacnkey Marshes, Walthamstow Wetlands, Wandstead Flats, Wandstead Park, Alexandra Park. Hell even when your in the centre you have places like Weavers Field and Lincoln Inn Field.

          • Well I heard of Wimbledon Common as a kid, but as I got older, I realised the Wombles were not actually real.
            Who cuts all the grass and milks all the Cows ?

  3. Given the capability of the F-35B this is quite possibly Britain’s most powerful deployment of AirPower at sea ever, not just this century.

    • The British Pacific Fleet, off Japan Aug 1945, had 9 aircraft carriers, 6 Replenishment carriers, 3 ferry carriers, 4 battleships, 7 cruisers, + destroyers, frigates, submarines & a large fleet train.

        • You have to judge it to what hostile forces had in each time period. Against Japan in 1945, the British Pacific Fleet was the greatest RN force ever. Todays CSG looks feeble in comparison to 2025 Chinese forces. Until the new T26 arrive & F-35 get some heavy stand off weapons (LRASM, JASSM-ER, AARGM-ER, Rampage, LORA, Storm Shadow or its replacement) the British fleet looks weak in comparison to its likely adversaries.

      • The Americans have 10 aircraft carriers all bigger than ours… All of their surface combat ships and subs carry tomahawk missiles (none of our surface ships do) They project a lot more power.

    • Everything is contextual … the RN today is a weak organization compared to other major naval powers. The fact that this task group of five RN/RFA vessels constitutes virtually everything that the RN is capable of sustaining forward deployed, is the the real story of this deployment. There is absolutely no comparison of that reality with the RN of the 19th Century.

      • 19th Century RN wouldn’t stand a chance against these 5 ships and their aircraft (or did you mean 20th century ?)

        • The 18th, 19th and 20th century RNs were real navies … there is no comparison with today’s purely symbolic deployments.

          • So you did mean 20th century then ! It’s ok, i worked out what you were trying to say.
            I must point out that a Single QE is way more powerful than the entire combined fleets of 17th, 18th and 19th century Carriers and a single F35 would shoot down every single aircraft they could launch.

        • Thats not actually true, the CSG is under armed, which weapon system deployed, would you think would make much of a dent on a QE class battleship? Yes, there is probably an SSN, but only one and even with a 100% hit rate and assuming every hit was a 1 shot kill, you still come up short

    • Fantastic a2a capability. if only the F35 had strike weapons to match the airframe capabilities that could be used against a peer. Would have been great to have numbers as originally planned so a descent capability would remain in UK while CSG is away.

        • No…not ss fleet grows…as software and integration allows. If nothing else the F35 programe has demonstrated the need for either proven technology from others or retention of sovereign evolution capability. ..what is new estimate for SPEAR3 integration….2033. 21 years after selection of LM.

          • If your comment related to numbers rather than Strike weapons then even additional deliveries in coming years will facilitate what…1 operational squadron at home. Original plans wrre for at least 120 ordered by 2012….delivered by 2017..possibly rising up to a max of 150..

  4. As has been discussed ad nauseam on this prestigious blog, whole books could be written on who is to blame for Britain’s current military weakness.

    We are now despatching HMS Prince of Wales to the Indo-Pacific region in a “show the flag” exercise. Only two – yes only two – British escorts will accompany her, the Type 23 ASW frigate HMS Richmond (which has recently had the anti-ship NSM fitted) and the Type 45 air defence destroyer HMS Dauntless. I doubt that the Astute boat reported to accompany the CSG will risk transiting the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait

    PoW will rely on Canadian, Norwegian and Spanish warships (one from each, provided the Spanish frigate ESPS Mendez Nunez turns up) for defence of the CSG 25 Deployment. And not even a Fleet Solid Stores ship for replenishment.

    CSG 25 is demonstrating to the world how weak Britain has become, regardless of how many F35B warplanes she has embarked.

    • There is another t45 and a T23 available for tasking right now so your argument doesn’t stack up. Do you have any indication or evidence that we can’t send these ships on CSG25? If you do it would be good if you could share it because there is nothing I can find.

      The entire point of CSG25 is to show non US NATO capability to deploy to the pacific. So if we send four escorts what role do you expect others to play?

      How do you expect smaller navy’s like the Dutch, Canadian’s or Norwegians to participate in such exercises. If they sent an escort along with a US task force doesn’t his mean American is somehow useless?

      • There are two more T45 that are reasonably deployable and two very much in pieces. With one, Daring, in the ‘no idea when she will deploy’ basket.

        STOROBing Daring to the extent that she was – utterly crazy.

      • Yes, the RN could assign other assets, but that leaves other commitments bare.
        We once would have done this while having the Armilla Patrol, APT(N) APT(S) FRE, TAPS, and other assets as well.
        The Escort fleet has shrunk from –
        40 to 35 ( Front line First 95 )
        35 to 32, then 31 ( 1997 SDR )
        31 to 23 ( SDR 2004 New Chapter, impact of 3xT23 cut then result of T42 drawdown from 11 ships replaced by 8 then only 6 T45 )
        23 to 19 ( 2010 SDR )
        19 to 14 ( result of Tory incompetence leaving the fleet to collapse as they didn’t get on and order newer ships sooner.)
        All at the hands of consecutive Tory, Labour, Tory, Labour governments.
        It should be a national scandal. It isn’t, as not enough people care or even realise as defence has not been high up on their agendas.
        Which is why I sneer at the sight of Starmer Healey on POWs deck….I loathe the lot of them, and those two have already taken their pound of flesh with the LPDs and Waves.

        • I agree.

          It will be interesting to see what surface fillet Robertson comes up with.

          I be pretty sure 30+ escorts.

          Next question is how does that get achieved with a sensible budget.

          The redefinition of MRSS is one clue as I think these will absorb the T32 role.

          I think we will see a small follow on order of three T31 as that is the sort of money that can be found.

          The next thing is are the new MCM motherships combatants?

          It is all very well buying civilian platforms and modifying them for RFA with a grey paint job – fine for home waters – they don’t have the DC to go in harms way.

          • Yee, it seems to be the way they might head to increase escorts.
            It’ll fool most the public.
            I agree reT31 and MRSS.
            Motherships have gone very quiet, was to be 4 I believe.

        • As Jim always says though, one T45 is more powerful than the whole FI War fleet and one F35 is way more capable than all the Harriers at the time. We don’t need anymore of either now.

          • I know your attempting sarcasm but the reality is one T45 is far more capable than the entire T42/T22 fleet in air defence and one F35 is much more capable in terms of targeting at air and on the land than the entire harrier force we deployed in 1982.

            However the threat has moved on as well as our capability and now even Yemen rebels have access to SAM’s and anti ship ballistic missiles.

        • To be fair to Starmer and Healey- they are only viewing a Royal Navy bequeathed to them by the buggering Tories.
          If SDSR adds a few more type 26 or type 31 frigates so the escort fleet is increased and provides clear commitment to SSNr and uplifting the attack sub fleet back up to 12 or 15 then I think we will all be eating humble pie.
          The Tories left an absolute mess for the Labour government to try to resolve at a time of financial pressures, the Donald tearing up international trade and our enduring commitment to support Ukraine in their battle for freedom and democracy. The headwinds against the Labour government should never be forgotten, the facts are clear. It is the Tories that are to blame for the current lack of escort warship numbers.

      • Not Sarcasm, I just agreed with you and your previous statements on here, I think you are a spot on bloke, keep up the amazing work.

    • Meanwhile you doomsayers bury your heads in the sand when other countries do similar things. Earlier this year the Italian navy sent a “carrier strike group,” to East Asia consisting of only the light carrier Cavour (with an air wing of half F-35s and half Harriers) and a single FREMM with just 16 Aster missiles for defense. The French also has their CDG CSG just return from the Indian Ocean which featured 1 supply vessel, 1 Horizon and 1 FREMM – the same numbers and types of assets we are sending yet everyone hailed that as a show of French hard power, the exact opposite of what people are now saying about the PoW CSG. When China sails their carriers they frequently only have 1 frigate and 1 destroyer shadowing it, no complaints from you same people again when that happens.

      It’s almost like you have an agenda.

      • We sat times have supplied escorts to US carrier groups its very normal to have NATO allies escort a carrier, at least she now does have AEW in 3/5 working Crowsnest helicopters and full aircraft wing. It not a half arsed deployment its done properly.

      • Agreed. There are plenty of agendas within Social Media in the UK.
        Here, I think posters are mostly just lamenting the lack of escorts, though some question the need.
        I fully support the deployment.

        • Hi M8, I’m actually not in that camp, yes more RN escorts would be nice but not absolutely essential. We aren’t going anywhere that we don’t have lots of friends who just love exercising with our CSG.
          It’s impressive having a QE with a full Alpha Wing onboard and I would kill to see her enter port with a full on, proper old fashioned deck filling display. But that’s it as far as F35’s are concerned the cupboard is bare, they have limited offensive capability and what the hell do if they actually have to engage anyone ?
          What concerns me far more is the complete lack of Munitions replenishment at Sea, unless we fly them out to a very friendly port and crane them onboard we have what we have stowed, that’s it. We have had the QE’s for 5 years now and no way to replenish their magazines at sea, Fort Victoria is …….. and the FSS replace to are 5/6 years away.

          Nothing it seems can get the U.K Treasury to budge on buying anything, we are due an SDR in June so any new purchases are still years away (and we are at the back of most queues). Fact is that in the past 38 months since the Ukraine was invaded we have ordered precisely zero new or extra major kit. No extra ships, boats, MPA, Helicopters, combat aircraft, AFV’s, Artillery, Airlift, Tankers, AEW, GBAD ETC ETC ETC. ZERO, ZILCH.

          Compared to that so what if we only have 2 surface exports !

          • Hi mate.
            You’re right, not aware we’ve ordered anything this decade beyond what was previously announced.

    • The UK should take advantage of having friends and allies as it is one of its strengths. Why insist on paying the restaurant bill all by yourself when friends are offering to contribute? The recent French and Italian deployments to the Indo Pacific region followed a similar structure but were less ambitious than the Royal Navy 2025 carrier deployment.

      • Agree, the most important target of CSG25 is US public opinion and the Chinese Communist Party. Demonstrating a broad coalition of capable NATO nations is what is required.

        • I think the Tangerine Tinted ‘Stable Genius’ is the most important recipient of this message?

          The three carrier deployments France/Italy/UK do demonstrate an ability to generate and project power.

          I marvel at how much Italy does for such a tiny budget. As others have said no DNE and little overseas basing is why the money goes further.

    • but still stronger than most? how many Navies can send a package like this the other side of the world – only the americans and maybe french/chinese

      • At the moment only UK, France and USA. China lacks the basing to do this. If China sends a carrier task force to the North Atlantic it will be almost impossible to sustain them as no one including Cuba will allow them to dock and Russian ports are highly restricted.

        China has to send a supply vessel just to deploy a frigate.

    • Whilst a war is being fought in Europe let’s put the best part of our air force in one ship and send it to the far side of the world. We can escort it with half our navy.

      • The exaggerated fear of Russia doesn’t really fit with the decision to send our most advanced air assets to the other side of the world. If Russia is an imminent threat, keep all forces closer to home. A CSG to the far north would be more logical. If Russia isn’t an imminent threat, then we should stop using it as the main argument to increase the defence budget.

      • Only half of the T35’s are going and no Typhoons, not sure if you were aware of the numbers of fighters we have ?
        RAF fighters are more than capable of meeting any threats the Russians might send and we have dozens of RN ships in various ports all over the UK too.
        Way too many posters putting this country down on here.

    • Pretty negative view on everything, as ive said previously why would we send other (not needed) assets with her with so much going on globally? It isnt going to war.

      Other than a few houthi’s firing some RPG’s at it going through the red sea is not exactly a great deal of risk on the deployment.

      Astute very unlikely to transit the Suez into the red sea but we may well have another one waiting on the other side, who knows.

    • Sorry to burst your little bubble mate, but RN SSNs have always gone through the Suez when deploying to /returning from a Eastern deployment. That takes them through the Red Sea via the Bab al-Mandab Strait, you just don’t know they have gone through as they’ve gone through dived! Just saying.

    • Typical negative rubbish. No one is pretending we are the USN. But what other navy can do a deployment like this with more escorts? France like us had two on her recent deployment. Italy one. Also Dragon will be joining for a later part of the deployment and l think the Kipion frigate will also be part for a while. Of course we need more escorts but your comments are a bit of an insult to the men and women serving on these ships.

  6. Eyes were raised at the “16 Merlin and Wildcat” until I read further that the total includes Malloy and Puma Drones.
    Still, 24 plus the Helis, we’d better get some good photo ops.

  7. Stop throwing sh. T at our navy.. We would all like more ships but we have always risen to the task in hand, God bless our men and women in uniform always. 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

  8. We are in NATO its right that NATO ships defend the carrier, when in war would the Royal navy be on its own. That is whole idea of NATO. At times US carriers only sale with 1 or even two escorts when not formed in a carrier battle group.

  9. I hope the defence review takes into account all the experts on here and their superior knowledge and use this opportunity to cut all the silly capabilities like MCM, Royal Marines, Puma replacements et al, with this ship and it’s F35’s, we just don’t need anything else. Time to get realistic and stop spending so much money.

    • It’s good to be able to comment, I came here a couple of weeks back but all my comments were being held for moderation. It’s a nice friendly place with some really great members, I love all of Jims stuff, the man has Incredible knowledge on all subjects, It’s a rare breath of fresh air to see such positivity amongst so many negatives.

        • It’s good to be nice and I always like to give credit where credit is due. Years of FB and X have taken it’s toll but now I’m here, It’s like I’ve always been here.
          It’s good to be able to talk to like minded positive people rather than the usual negative ones on the social media sites.

        • Well actually, Jim, I agree with Halfwit on this one thing, but don’t let it go to your head!!!

  11. You start fcuking trolling people who have seen through you and your games on this blog, you know whats going to happen

  12. No issues from me, go off, get the crews on a decent and enjoyable deployment, lots of training opportunities, hopefully they will get lots of shore time to visit places, and show the flag and capabilities at the same time. Would prefer a bigger UK flagged escort, but we don’t have enough remaining due to our previous crop of cowardly and incompetent politicians. But we are part of NATO, and we always deploy with allies in some shape or form, and this is no different. Great for the NATO allies crews as well, great experience all round. Crack on and be prepared for anything.

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