After eight months at sea, the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales Strike Group has officially concluded its 2025 international deployment. Ships, aircraft, and personnel have begun returning to their respective home bases, with the flagship expected to arrive in Portsmouth in the coming hours.
This year’s deployment, designated Operation Highmast by the Royal Navy, took the HMS Prince of Wales Strike Group to Japan and Australia—an important milestone for the force and a clear geostrategic signal by maintaining a continuous presence in the Indo-Pacific region. Another major highlight is that the Strike Group achieved Full Operational Capability, a status that enables it to assume NATO duties.
According to the Royal Navy, for Operation Highmast the Prince of Wales Strike Group formed a central defensive ring composed of the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless for air defense, while the Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond and the Norwegian frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen provided anti-submarine and anti-surface coverage.
Throughout Highmast, the Strike Group also integrated with vessels from various allied navies, including a Spanish Navy F-100 frigate, as well as ships from the Royal Canadian Navy, the U.S. Navy, among others. The Royal Navy also deployed its fleet tankers RFA Tideforce and RFA Tidespring, which supported the task force during different phases of the voyage.
Milestone for the Carrier Air Wing
Operation Highmast also marked an important milestone for the embarked Air Wing of HMS Prince of Wales, as it featured—for the first time—the presence of 24 F-35B Lightning II fighters during an operational deployment. The aircraft belong to the Royal Air Force’s No. 617 Squadron “Dambusters” and the Royal Navy’s 809 Naval Air Squadron.
As mentioned earlier, the recent international deployment also enabled HMS Prince of Wales to achieve Full Operational Capability, making the carrier “ready to integrate into frontline operations whenever required, providing the United Kingdom with enhanced power projection capabilities.”
Following the conclusion of Highmast, the stealth F-35B Lightning fighters returned to their home base at RAF Marham in Norfolk, the Merlin helicopters to RNAS Culdrose near Helston and RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, while the Wildcat helicopters returned to Yeovilton.
Illustrative cover image. Credits: Royal Navy
You may also be interested in: The United Kingdom continues positioning its Type 31s as the future multi-role frigate of the Chilean Navy
