UK’s Carrier Strike Group Sets Sail for Eight-Month Indo-Pacific Deployment

The Royal Navy‘s flagship HMS Prince of Wales departed Portsmouth today, leading the UK’s premier naval deployment of 2025. The carrier strike group embarks on an ambitious eight-month mission spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific, demonstrating the UK’s commitment to maintaining global maritime security.

Operation Highmast, as the mission is known, will see the strike group conducting exercises with a dozen allied nations across the Mediterranean, Middle East, South-east Asia, Japan, and Australia. The deployment represents a significant show of force, coming at a time of increased global tensions.

“Working closely with partners from across the globe, Operation Highmast will demonstrate credible deterrence and our support to NATO and the rules-based international order,” said Commodore James Blackmore, commanding the operation from HMS Prince of Wales.

The initial deployment consists of approximately 2,500 military personnel, including 2,100 British, 200 Norwegian, and additional Canadian and Spanish forces. This number is expected to increase to over 4,500 during key exercises in the Indo-Pacific region.

The strike group’s composition includes destroyer HMS Dauntless, Norwegian vessels HNoMS Maud and HNoMS Roald Amundsen, frigate HMS Richmond, Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Québec, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA Tidespring. The air wing will comprise up to 24 F-35B fifth-generation strike fighters, along with attack helicopters, troop-carrying aircraft, anti-submarine helicopters, and drones, supported by approximately 750 personnel.

Defence Secretary John Healey highlighted the significance of the deployment: “Operation Highmast exemplifies our unwavering commitment to the security and stability of our nation. As one of only a few nations capable of leading a deployment of this scale, the Royal Navy is once again demonstrating that UK defence is strong, modern, and ready to meet the threats of today and tomorrow.”

The carrier group’s immediate schedule includes NATO exercises off France, focusing on aerial defense capabilities, followed by joint operations with an Italian-led carrier force in the Mediterranean. The group will then proceed east of Suez via the Red Sea.

The deployment marks the second major carrier strike group operation for the Royal Navy in recent years, following HMS Queen Elizabeth’s 2021 deployment during the global pandemic. The mission aims to declare full operational capability for the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers while reinforcing the UK’s commitment to NATO and international security.

Captain Will Blackett, Commanding Officer of HMS Prince of Wales, leads the 1,600-strong crew aboard the carrier. “This ship is a fantastic machine, but she only works thanks to the magic brought to her by the 1,600 people on board, working hard, a magnificent team.”

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