A powerful Royal Navy task group, featuring stealth jets and warships, has gathered in the North Sea for critical drills ahead of a major global deployment planned for 2025, according to a Royal Navy news release.
The UK Carrier Strike Group, led by HMS Prince of Wales, is conducting Exercise Strike Warrior off the coast of Scotland.
According to a Ministry of Defence press release, this is the final phase in a series of preparations for the deployment, which will be the first of its kind since HMS Queen Elizabeth’s 49,000-mile mission to Japan and back in 2021.
The exercise is designed to ensure the task group, comprising F-35B Lightning jets, frigates, destroyers, submarines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers, and helicopters, can operate together effectively across multiple domains. The Royal Air Force (RAF) is also playing a significant role, providing aircraft to support anti-submarine operations and test the air defence capabilities of the task group.
Commodore James Blackmore, Commander of the UK Carrier Strike Group, oversees the exercise from HMS Prince of Wales. In the press release, he stated, “The UK’s Carrier Strike Group is the 1* battle staff that commands the fleet embarked on HMS Prince of Wales. I have command of highly capable assets and personnel, which provide a powerful capability across all domains from anti-air to cyber. This exercise is important because it will validate my team as a “Very High Readiness” force, which means we can be ready to command a fleet with a few days’ notice. This is all in preparation for next year’s exercise across which will see us traverse the globe to achieve.”
Throughout the two-week-long Strike Warrior exercise, HMS Prince of Wales will be protected by several Royal Navy warships, including HMS Portland, HMS Iron Duke, and HMS Dauntless, along with an Astute-class submarine.
HMS Portland, a Type 23 frigate, will focus on anti-submarine warfare, aided by Merlin helicopters and P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft provided by the RAF. HMS Dauntless, a Type 45 destroyer, will enhance the task group’s air defence capability with its Sampson radars and Sea Viper missiles. These systems have already demonstrated their effectiveness against drones and missiles during recent operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with HMS Diamond.
Beneath the surface, the Astute-class hunter-killer submarine will support the task group by targeting enemy submarines and carrying Tomahawk missiles capable of striking land-based targets. This combination of surface and underwater assets ensures HMS Prince of Wales is well protected during the exercise. Over the course of the next two weeks, the task group will face a variety of scenarios designed to test their ability to defend the carrier and conduct complex flying operations.
A significant part of the exercise is the involvement of F-35B jets from 809 Naval Air Squadron, which will carry out long-range strike missions, including mock attacks into mainland Europe.
This is the first time 809 NAS has deployed on HMS Prince of Wales since the squadron was reactivated last year.
Commander Nick Smith, Commanding Officer of 809 NAS, expressed the importance of this milestone: “The F-35 Lightning Force, specifically the front-line units 617 Squadron and 809 Naval Air Squadron, bring the headline Carrier Strike capability to the task group. The 5th Generation capability we bring ranges from projection of firepower ashore to support of other theatre assets or defence of the task group.”
Commander Smith added that Exercise Strike Warrior represents an important step for 809 NAS: “This exercise is an important milestone for 809 NAS, being the squadron’s first return to sea since the Falklands conflict and an important stepping stone in developing our Initial Operational Capability.” The F-35Bs will be conducting sorties throughout the exercise, testing their ability to operate from the carrier in a range of high-pressure situations.
In addition to testing the operational capabilities of the UK’s Carrier Strike Group, the exercise also involves close cooperation with NATO warships, particularly those from Standing NATO Maritime Group 1. As one of NATO’s leading maritime task forces in Northern Europe, their involvement provides an opportunity to test combined tactics in scenarios such as anti-submarine warfare, countering uncrewed systems, air defence, and pilot rescues.
The task groups will also practice navigating narrow straits while under threat, further honing their ability to respond to real-world challenges, say the Royal Navy.
Image above is Crown Copyright 2024.
Surely this royal navy strike group pails in comparison to the mighty carrier groups of the Russian and Chinese navy’s 😀
China is an open question, but I’ve dropped more menacing (and more seaworthy) vessels into my toilet than the Russian Federation has
The aircraft that is currently capable of flying off the first two Chinese carriers is absolutely awful, terrible takeoff weight for starters so payload and or range aren’t good, and I don’t think they have too many of them. So far no jet has operated from the Fujian as it is far from operational.
Oh I see what you meant – sorry, read that as a more general comment about a PLAN carrier battle group which certainly has some capabilities which are potent e.g. long range missiles (though certainly their naval aviation is pants)
The russian submarine service is one of the best in the world, different question are surface vessels with old and outdated ships.
and the quality of them is overrated.
Say what. They lost the KURSK.
Evil plans are met with superior forces. The USA has a much bigger and more deadly Navy.
Exactly. Russia has lost some serious flag ships from the Ukraine.
Russia has no carrier strike groups and China is still in its infancy. Nothing to see here, move along, move along..
It’s got bucket loads of capability in comparison to the Russians.
The one and only Astute submarine….
how many F35s?
what RFA asset available to support.
vanity project for Admirals nothing more.
Too many centres of gravity? Does the RN planning allow for redundancy
So we now have a good idea of the ships that will constitute CSG25, and as expected it will be much smaller task group than CSG21:
CSG25 vs CSG21
UK (RN / RFA)
1 vs 1 QEC aircraft carrier
1 vs 2 T45 destroyers
1 vs 2 T23 frigates
1 vs 1 Tide replenishment oiler
0 vs 1 Fort replenishment ship
1 vs 1 Astute attack submarine (for parts of the deployment)
Non-UK
0 vs 1 USN destroyer
0 vs 1 Dutch frigate
1 vs 0 Norwegian frigate
1? vs 0 Italian frigate (expected for part of the deployment)
1 vs 0 Norwegian replenishment oiler
Air defence looks to be a particular weaknesses with just one destroyer (Dauntless) which presumably will be rarely detached from the carrier group.
Hopefully the Crowsnest ASaC system has matured a little since its very disappointing and pre-mature debut in CSG21. But worryingly it’s been very low profile since it finally reached IOC last year – just six years before its now planned out of service date of 2029! Notably there has since been no MoD press releases proclaiming that Merlin HM2 with Crowsnest is one of the most modern and capable AEW systems in the world!
Italian frigates have Aster 30.
Fair point about the Italian FREMM’s. But I suspect that you wouldn’t want one acting as the air defense commander for a carrier group. Maybe someone can give us a “heads up” on their AAW capabilities compared to the specialist HORIZON and T45 destroyers.
They lack the long range search radar S1850 +450km in Horizon/T45 and have a small number of missiles, but their radar that gives data to Aster is more modern than the one in Horizon being already an AESA. T45 also have an AESA radar to give data to Aster. Horizon instead have a PESA which is inferior technology.
Who are you? Because if you were somebody that should know the true capabilities…you surely would already. Civilians shouldn’t know and shouldn’t want to know to aid secrecy.
The only destroyer I’m personally familiar with (as an RO) was a Type 42 B3, and a lot has changed since the 1990’s. But I’m certainly not asking for any info beyond what is in the public domain in the likes of Janes Weapons (Naval) and the manufacturer brochures freely available at trade shows or as downloadable PDF’s.
CSG 21 had two Tides as part of the auxiliary force, not one. This current deployment also has two T-23 frigates, not one. HMS Dragon is currently undergoing reactivation and is expected to rejoin the fleet before the end of the year, HMS Daring also expected in a similar timeframe.
I’d expect 2 T-45s & 2 T-23 as the RNs core armed escort for next year’s major CSG. There is nothing to suggest there won’t be enough escorts active by the end of this year to commit to the CSG and our other operations simultaneously based of the expected return dates for said escort vessels, the big thing that will be sorely missing is Fort Vic but she’s really done for at this point – better spend the resources on keeping the Tides as active as possible than beating a dead horse with the tiny twig left that is the RFA.
RFA Tidesurge was a replacement rather than addition to Tidespring at the dog-end of the CSG21 deployment.
I would be delighted if two T45’s and two T23’s proved to be available for CSG25, but it seems very unlikely with gapping almost every tasking. E.g. I would prioritise Iron Duke replacing Lancaster as the forward deployed frigate in Bahrain, rather than using up most of her remaining active service life on CSG25.
if there are any T23 able to operate ASW. available or in the maintenance/refit condition.
jd expect another submarine will be in attendance from the Americans
Journalism needs to improve.
When we don’t have ‘several’ warships able to even put to sea let alone accompany PoW, try using a ‘Few’ warships. Learn grammar.
So powerful we don’t have any support ships and the UK owned ship yard given the order to build them was refused a pretty small UK government loan to keep them in business. They wonder why people are reluctant to go into engineering with that level of support for our industry.
ask all the still unemployed builders from yards not too long shut there is a big builders available, but nowhere for them to do it
The very real possibility that Putin and Now North Korea possibly may try intimidating tactics. A concerned Canadian here . If only I was young again I would have joined our forces in Canada. Not by navy. Ground troops to defend the continent of North America as well as Tmthe U.K .
I am very proud the have served in the British Army. I am a 63 year old veteran. I class the services as brothers and sisters we all rose to the challenge of serving out country. Many continue to do so which is most important as the world experience a very difficult time. I salute you all. Please keep safe and love your families.