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)
Russia has no carrier strike groups and China is still in its infancy. Nothing to see here, move along, move along..
Too many centres of gravity? Does the RN planning allow for redundancy