HMS Prince of Wales sails into Gib days after reaching ‘full capability’

by Chronicle reporters and PA

The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales sailed into Gibraltar on Sunday, days after it reached “full capability”.

The ship leads a strike group returning to the UK after an eight month deployment and UK Defence Secretary John Healy said this week could be ready to use at short notice under NATO command.

HMS Prince of Wales, one of two Royal Navy aircraft carriers in service, can be ready for Nato commanders within 10 days, Mr Healey said on Monday during a visit to the vessel anchored off Naples with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

The ship, which has the largest ever number of fifth generation F-35 jets from a single nation on a carrier, is among the vessels making up the first carrier strike group being placed under Nato command.

The F-35s have been taking part in a joint exercise with Italian jets, Nato Exercise Falcon Strike.

The Defence Secretary said: “This is a day in which we mark the full capability of this carrier with its aircraft.”

The carrier fired a 12-gun salute as it sailed into Gibraltar, with a return fired from HM Naval Base as the vessel approached the quayside in the Western Arm in the North Mole.

Earlier Sunday, another vessel in the strike group, the destroyer HMS Dauntless, docked in the Naval Base, while another ship, the frigate HMS Richmond, is also expected in Gibraltar, as is the RFA Tideforce.

Last Friday, the Royal Navy flew 36 F-35 sorties in one day off the carrier, which he said was the highest rate since the Falklands war in 1982.

The carrier’s “commitment is to Nato” and it marks the UK’s “Nato first policy in practice”.

Mr Healey said: “It will be fully ready for Nato commanders at 10 days’ notice.”

“It’s fully ready for the UK at five days’ notice. That’s the capability, having two fully operational carriers.”

“It gives the UK our unique strength and unique contribution to Nato as a European nation.”

The UK and 20 other nations, including Spain, were part of the carrier strike group’s journey over the last eight months.

A future deployment will see the carrier have uncrewed ships as part of its starting group, uncrewed aircraft and a hybrid crewed and uncrewed air wing.

Mr Healey added: “This today sends a message to Putin and any would-be adversaries.”

“The UK and the 20 nations that have been part of this carrier strike group over the last eight months, we are ready together to stand up and reinforce global security and global deterrence.”

Commodore James Blackmore, the UK carrier strike group commander, told reporters that during an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific, the carrier strike group sailed 40,000 miles, had ships from 10 different nations and worked with 20 different countries.