The Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Prince of Wales is to start an eight-month deployment to ship a “powerful message” of the UK’s naval and air energy.
Operation Highmast will soak up joint workouts and visits with 40 nations throughout the Mediterranean, Center East, southeast Asia, Japan and Australia.
The £3bn plane provider is scheduled to sail from Portsmouth on Tuesday, accompanied from the navy base by Sort 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, to affix a formation of warships, provide ships and plane off the coast of Cornwall.
HMS Prince of Wales, as the largest class of ship within the Royal Navy, is main Service Strike Group 25 (CSG25) with the involvement of round 2,500 personnel from the Royal Navy, 592 from the Royal Air Drive and 900 from the Military.
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King Charles visited the plane provider in March
Later in the course of the deployment, as many as 4,500 army personnel will probably be concerned in workouts within the Indo-Pacific area. Forces from Norway, Canada and Spain are amongst 12 different nations participating in operations.
The CSG’s first activity will probably be to affix a NATO train off France testing aerial defences earlier than the ships transfer on to the Mediterranean to work with an Italian-led provider drive after which head east by way of the Crimson Sea.
Picture:
HMS Prince of Wales pictured at Portsmouth Naval Base in February. Pic: PA
Different army property embody a contingent of as much as 24 Royal Air Drive F-35B Lightning fighter jets, Merlin Mk2 anti-submarine helicopters, Merlin Mk4 Commando and Wildcat helicopters together with T-150 Malloy and Puma drones.
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Royal Navy workouts on HMS Dauntless
Commodore James Blackmore, CSG commander, mentioned the deployment would ship a “powerful message” of the UK’s naval and air energy.
He mentioned: “It’s about supporting key trade routes that exist from the Indo-Pacific region to the UK, and supporting partners and allies in the region, showing that we are there as a capable and credible force should it be required.
“Operation Highmast will display credible deterrence and our help to NATO and the rules-based worldwide order.”
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, known as it an “immensely complex operation” which sends “a powerful message of deterrence to any adversary”.
“This is a unique opportunity for the UK to operate in close coordination with our partners and allies in a deployment that not only shows our commitment to security and stability, but also provides an opportunity to bolster our own economy and boost British trade and exports,” he added.
