Yesterday, the Royal Navy announced that the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has already set sail from Portsmouth to begin its eight-month deployment in the Indo-Pacific, marking what will be the United Kingdom’s most significant deployment in 2025. Just a few hours later, the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless also departed, joining the carrier-led Strike Group as part of its escort. The group will be commanded by Commodore James Blackmore.
Operation Highmast, as the Royal Navy has named this deployment, will extend until December and is expected to include a wide range of exercises with more than a dozen allied nations across the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Asia. This is a deployment of great importance—not only due to its scale, as reported by the Royal Navy—but also because it marks only the second time the UK Carrier Strike Group has been deployed since 2021. On that occasion, still heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the flagship was the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth on its voyage to the Pacific.
On the matter, Commodore Blackmore stated: “I am delighted to lead the UK Carrier Strike Group, which brings together sailors, marines, soldiers and aviators from across the UK and allied armed forces. By working closely with partners around the world, Operation Highmast will demonstrate credible deterrence and our support for NATO and the rules-based international order. It will reaffirm that the UK is safe at home and strong abroad, and it will reinforce the UK’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific.”
At the outset, Operation Highmast is expected to involve 2,500 personnel, a number that may rise to 4,500 as allied units join the deployment. Of the initial total, 2,100 personnel will be provided by the UK Armed Forces, with an additional 200 from Norway, and the remaining 200 from Canada and Spain.
This is because the British Strike Group—comprising the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, the destroyer HMS Dauntless, the frigate HMS Richmond, and the support ship RFA Tidespring—will also be joined by escort elements from the navies of these allied countries. Specifically, the Royal Navy’s official statement mentions that Canada has contributed the frigate HMCS Ville de Québec (which departed Plymouth alongside HMS Richmond), while Norway has sent its tanker HNoMS Maud and the frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen. Spain will contribute its F-100 class frigate Méndez Núñez for a four-month period before its return to Ferrol. The deployment will soon also include 24 British F-35B fighter jets, as well as attack helicopters and Malloy T-150 cargo drones, which will replace helicopters for supply runs between the group’s vessels.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey said: “As one of the few nations capable of leading a deployment of this scale, the Royal Navy is once again demonstrating that the UK’s defence is strong, modern, and ready to meet the threats of today and tomorrow (…) Operation Highmast exemplifies our unwavering commitment to the security and stability of our nation. I want to thank the thousands of personnel in our Armed Forces who took part in executing this complex operation.”
Image credits: Royal Navy
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