The UK Carrier Strike Group has announced that Italian F-35B fighter jets have operated from HMS Prince of Wales as part of Exercise MedStrike.
In a tweet, the Strike Group said: “Fantastic to welcome Vice Admiral Aurelio De Carolis, Commander in Chief of the Italian Navy Fleet. Truly impressive to see their F35B fighter jets operating from @HMSPWLS during Exercise MedStrike.”
Exercise MedStrike is currently underway in the Ionian Sea, between Taranto and Sicily, bringing together two carrier strike groups, 21 warships, three submarines, 41 fast jets, 19 helicopters, ten patrol aircraft, and more than 8,000 personnel from allied nations.
Fantastic to welcome Vice Admiral Aurelio De Carolis, Commander in Chief of the @ItalianNavy Fleet.
Truly impressive to see their F35B fighter jets operating from @HMSPWLS during Exercise MedStrike. #UKItaly #CSG25 #MedStrike #ITSCavour #strongerTogether pic.twitter.com/Q5HYuzwTZR
— UK Carrier Strike Group (@COMUKCSG) May 9, 2025
The exercise, which runs from May 5 to May 11, aims to integrate and train NATO forces in a range of operations, including anti-submarine warfare and air defence.
The Italian Navy’s Carrier Strike Group, led by the aircraft carrier ITS Cavour, is working alongside the UK Carrier Strike Group to enhance operational cooperation. Commodore James Blackmore, Commander of the UK Carrier Strike Group, described the exercise as a significant test of skills alongside NATO allies in a strategically vital region. He noted:
“Working at the heart of a powerful NATO force sends a strong message and shows clearly the phenomenal capabilities that not only the UK possesses but the alliance as a whole.”
The exercise is part of the UK’s ongoing global deployment under Operation Highmast, aimed at reinforcing security in the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific regions. Participating nations include Canada, France, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Türkiye, and the United States, highlighting the multilateral nature of the operation.
Operation Highmast itself is the UK Carrier Strike Group’s headline global deployment for 2025, led by HMS Prince of Wales. The mission spans eight months, covering the Mediterranean, Indo-Pacific, and other key regions, aiming to reinforce UK and allied presence while demonstrating maritime power and cooperation. The deployment involves air, sea, and land forces from multiple NATO and partner nations.
Is that a harrier that I see as well?
Good eyes, they’re dinky compared to the f36 stent yhey
not exactly stealthy those harriers were they?
Yep ITS Cavour currently operates a mixed airwing of 6 F35Bs, 9 Harrier AV8-Bs and a dozen or so mixed helicopters. Cavour is about the same size and equivalent to ex HMS Hermes.
I think it’s only 4 rotors when they have the harriers and f35s
Yes, for about 5 seconds I was SO excited to see Harriers parked up on the POW! Then I realised…
Unpossible! We were told cross decking could only be done with a CATOBAR carrier.
That was before everyone and his mother actually decided the RN was onto a serious thing with F35b carriers.. now there will be more F35b carriers than CATOBAR carriers..
To be fair, most STOVL carrier nations where STOVL operators before the RN bought F-35. The Italians had Guiseppe Garibaldi operating harriers since the 80’s, Spain’s Juan Carlos I predates F-35, Thailands carrier was a Harrier carrier before it ran out of spare parts, the USMC was a Harrier force, and Japan was never going to CATOBAR it’s destroyers.
and won’t take long either.
The Queen Elizabeth Class where originally suppose to operate Harriers while waiting for F35B then Dave came along and scrapped everything to save a couple of quid.
Not everything, all Harrier GR7, all the Sea Harriers, and I think many of the GR9s had already been cut.
But yes, what were left, Dave cut.
the pathetic sum of116 million for the 72bharriers to get given to the US was as bad a deal as the first UK got for ocean
It’s worth remembering that Italy is ordering 40 F35Bs but will probably only ever be able to operate one squadron from its carrier.. it will also have around 100 f35A so does not really need its F35Bs for land based ops.. this means it’s very likely that if E NATO ever went to war or a European force had to have a large carrier airwing somewhere..Italy is the one place an Elizabeth could grab any extra European f35b squadron from as even if they load up their own Carrier they will still have a squadron left over ( they are planning for 1 airforce and 1 navy f35 squadron.. both of which will rota onto the carrier).
It does mean that Europe as a whole will have 5 f35b squadrons.
I think you need to remember that the Italian Navy also flies F-35 off Trieste, so we’re probably looking at 24 aircraft flying off Italian flat tops, and the remaining 16 being reserves and OCU, so while Italy may from time to time deploy F-35’s onto a QE for combined ops, I don’t think it’s a given that the 2nd Italian squadron would fly from a RN flat top.