During the course of yesterday, the Royal Navy announced that its flagship, HMS Prince of Wales, has finally achieved Full Operational Capability together with its F-35B stealth fighters after completing the first of two exercises scheduled to be carried out in the Mediterranean Sea under NATO command. This is an important milestone both for the vessel and for the Royal Navy as a whole, since it means that the Carrier Strike Group is now authorized to integrate into front-line operations when required, giving the United Kingdom greater projection capability.
Expanding on the details, the development comes during the final stage of the deployment known as Operation Highmast, in which HMS Prince of Wales and its escort were sent to the Indo-Pacific to train alongside various regional partners, in what has been a months-long mission. In recent days, already forming part of its return journey, the ship took part in the Falcon Strike air-naval exercise together with platforms from Greece, the U.S., France, and Italy. The occasion represented an important event in itself, also considering that it was the opportunity in which the carrier operated with the largest number of F-35 fighters on board since its entry into service, totaling 24 aircraft.
It is worth noting that on this occasion, the United Kingdom’s Strike Group was reinforced by the Italian frigate ITS Luigi Rizzo, which belongs to the Carlo Bergamini (FREMM) class. The rest of the escort was already composed of the Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond, as well as the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless and the Norwegian frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen. In the case of the aforementioned British destroyer, its participation in the training activity was partial, as it was operating in other areas of the Mediterranean as part of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SMG2); the Type 23 frigate, for its part, conducted visits to Albania to participate in defense meetings and guided tours.
Furthermore, it should be mentioned that after completing the Falcon Strike exercise, the aircraft carrier headed to the coast of the city of Naples to serve as the venue for meetings between senior British officials and their Italian counterparts to strengthen defense and security ties between the two allies. Among the most notable were the Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, and the Secretary of Defense, John Healey. The latter was the one who confirmed that HMS Prince of Wales had already achieved Full Operational Capability.
Quoting some of his own statements: “This is a proud moment for Britain. The United Kingdom is strengthening European security and delivering on our plan to prioritize NATO. I deeply appreciate the professionalism and dedication of all those who have worked to reach this important milestone (…) We are in a new era of threats that demands a new era of defense. Our strength lies in military power and strong alliances, so it is fitting to commemorate this moment with one of our closest NATO allies, Italy. Their F-35s have been operating from the aircraft carrier to demonstrate the deep collaboration between our armed forces.”
*Image credits: Royal Navy
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